Path of Repentance
by rrreeves
Summary: OCxSephiroth. She worked in Shinra's kitchen when he was a boy and became his friend. Then she vanished. Years later she reappears, unaware that years have passed. This reunion becomes too meaningful for Hojo to ignore. Rated for Hojo and mature themes.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, but I do own my OC.

_OCxSephiroth. She worked in Shinra's kitchen when he was a boy, and became his friend. Then she vanished. Years later she reappears as if nothing has happened. This insignificant reunion becomes too meaningful for Hojo to ignore._

**Hurlo** _thar, _you! _**Pleeease**_ read here before reading the story? Thank you :) Okay, this story starts in Sephiroth's childhood, without romance. Then, after this first prologue chapter, there will be a long timeskip. Sephiroth will be General, and feelings will _start_ flourishing. Hopefully... And please read this story carefully while not skipping paragraphs..?

The OC will _not_ be "Mary-Sue-ish" and all-powerful with magnificent abilities that stun people half to death, and she will change on the way(her age will be explained). She'll be... unusual. I'll try making this story as original as possible.  
Rated for language, romance, Hojo's plans and events in later chapters... And just to be careful.

_**

* * *

**_Prologue

_**

* * *

**_"Take him to the kitchen, and tell them to teach him a proper lesson," Hojo demanded in something akin to a snarl, glaring at Sephiroth with spite that could bring even the most fearsome of fiends into submission. At least, that was how he could be described by a child.

"I did nothing," the eight-year old Sephiroth stated, his frowning face calmer than he felt. Nonetheless he stepped back and let a nameless scientist take him by his arm and gently pull him along.

"_Exactly!_ You didn't do _anything._ That is why you are being punished!" he heard Hojo yell as they walked out of hearing range. Never before had he been that angry. Sephiroth doubted he would forget how much colder Hojo's eyes had looked than usual upon realizing what Sephiroth had done. Or rather, what he _hadn't_ done.

For as long as Sephiroth could remember, Hojo had been testing him in various ways to check everything from his strength to his ability to react. Though it almost never hurt him, or at least not much, Sephiroth had never enjoyed it. He had only failed a few times, and one of those times was today. A large, jet-black fiend with no apparent shape had attacked him with something that resembled ink. It had soaked him completely, leaving his white garments and his silver hair completely black. Sephiroth's unforgivable mistake, as Hojo called it, had been _not_ to avoid said attack.

Owing to this, he was taken to the kitchen to repent for what he had _not_ done. He was not entirely sure what he should be thinking of that, as he had never been to the kitchen before. Was the kitchen an awful place?

He was not left to wonder for long, as a scorching hot, damp piece of cloth was pressed against his face to remove the worst of the ink.

_**

* * *

**_The busy chef and the cooks, most of them women, outright ignored the newly arrived boy. They continued cooking and serving, cleaning and cutting, boiling and stewing, while he and the scientist who accompanied him waited. The scientist apparently felt uncomfortable, though, so once he caught sight of the chef - who also deliberately ignored them - he explained the situation with words vague enough not to awaken suspicion.

"...What?" demanded the chef, drying her hands with a cloth that looked anything but clean.

"The professor demanded of me to bring this boy here for today. Please put him to work," the scientist said in a monotone voice, moving one hand through his thick hair nervously.

A long moment passed, in which the large chef scrutinized the jade-eyed child. His black (once white, but she wouldn't be able to tell because of the ink) clothes looked wet and smelled of something she couldn't quite categorize, and his hair was fairly long and wet, also completely black. His face looked like it had just been cleaned; it was slightly red and drops of water ran down his forehead. The boy looked young, yes, but his expression was that of an adult, and strongly so. She gave a grunt of approval and waved in the general direction of one of the largest sinks. Sephiroth walked over there with mature strides and didn't stop before he was in front of the piles of dirty plates placed next to the sink. Foam, soap and food remains were all over the place. What did they want him to do? Not wishing to seem utterly clueless, he turned slowly with an expecting, yet calm expression.

"Rimm, put him to work!"

"...Yes, chef," someone replied. The grumpy voice sounded oddly muffled.

A person walked in his direction with yet another pile of plates. Forks and knives were in between each of them, turning the pile into something akin to a cactus. The plates hid some of her face from his view, but Sephiroth kept an eye on her either way. After she placed the heavy pile on the counter, she wiped her forehead with an arm and turned to him. Her dirty apron was what caught his attention first. It had once been white, he could tell, but now ketchup and food remains were all over it, leaving it quite colorful. Just like the cloth the chef had used to wipe the dirt off her hands. The brown hair of the young woman was shorter than his and barely touched her shoulders. In the current light it looked light, but he guessed it was a little darker. She wore a hat of some kind; a tight-fitting, knitted one. He wasn't sure about her age, but guessed about eighteen or nineteen. She was at least twice his age.

"Eh... Hi," she said, looking at him with something that looked like scepticism. It could also be dislike. He frowned.

"Who are you? I'm Rimm." she said. Her expression still didn't change. Was it curiosity, perhaps?  
"I am Sephiroth," he answered. Rimm blinked, then lowered to sit in front of him. Now _he_ looked down at _her_ instead of the other way around.  
"...Sephiroth. I've never heard that name before," she said, smiling for a brief second. It seemed awkward.

"I am helping the scientists," he explained. Not under any circumstances did he intend to tell her that he had never been outside the building, other than on the roof. Despite this, the kitchen was entirely new to him. Hojo had told him he would be allowed to go outside alone eventually, when he was old and strong enough. These were things he did not need to mention.

"Hm... Fine with me," she said, then got to her feet and grabbed a mop that was quite conveniently placed within her reach.

She then handed it to _him_, and he slowly accepted.

"Clean the floor or the dishes?" she asked, her smile widening. His grip on the mop tightened slightly after a quick glance in the direction of the dishes. She chuckled in a sad manner and shook her head, but still smiled.

_**

* * *

**_After hours of mopping the floors, Sephiroth was getting thoroughly annoyed. Every time he was finished, he turned to look at the results of his hard work only to see that the cooks had once again spilled potato-, orange- and carrot peelings all over the place. He mopped again, they spilled food on the floor once more, he cleaned, they spread their mess, and so on. Just as he thought he was finally getting things under control, dinner was served to the Shinra employees and a whole new load of food, food remains, plates, platters, dirty forks, spoons and knives were all over the place again. The only thing of comfort was that _his_ job was not as dirty as Rimm's.

Even so, she had taken her time to (awkwardly) thank him for his work since she usually had to take care of the mopping and the dish cleaning at the same time. Sephiroth vaguely wondered if she was lying, and considered asking her if she was ever helped by others to get things done. He did not ask, though.

Much later, after cleaning everything that needed to be cleaned, Sephiroth and Rimm were the only ones left in the kitchen. It was late, Sephiroth guessed it was close to midnight, and most of the lights were off. The two of them were standing next to the currently locked food cabinets.

"It's normal that they simply leave before us, because the cooks don't need to stay here just to make sure I do my job. You see, if I _don't _do my job, they'll just wait until tomorrow to yell at me," she said, flashing a smirk. Sephiroth simply searched her face suspiciously. Her cheeks were red from the hard work. Sephiroth had worked to the best of his ability as well, but had barely broken a sweat.  
"...So, thanks for your hard work," she continued, her smile suddenly gone as she picked something from her pockets. The moment she got her eyes on the white items in her hand, she leered. She resembled someone who had just gotten their hands on something they had _really _been lookingforward to.

"_Here,_" she said solemnly, then handed him a few of the white objects. He accepted them.

Then, not sure what to do, he watched her sit down on the floor with her back against the cabinets before putting some of the soft, white pieces of food in her mouth. After sitting down next to her, not too close, he copied her. Even though it _looked_ like giant versions of the ear plugs the scientists sometimes used when they worked with fiends, it _tasted_ much better. He could not quite describe it; it was just soft. Soft and sweet. Usually he favored spicy food, but this was different. What was it?

"Et'sh machmellosh!" Rimm said while watching him eat, her cheeks big because her mouth was full. After swallowing, she tried again.  
"It's marshmallows."

"...Marshmallows?" he repeated after swallowing.

His stomach already screamed for more, though not loud enough for Rimm to hear. He was hungry. Somehow, he doubted that marshmallows were the healthiest things to eat when he was hungry, but they were the only edible (and accesible) things in the kitchen currently. The sweet taste still lingered in his mouth, though, of osme reason making it all watery. _Rimm's_ stomach, as opposed to his own, uttered a rather loud growl, and she hit it to make it stop. Her stomach uttered yet another sound, this time louder.

Sephiroth caught himself staring at her complaining abdomen. A strange sensation made his lungs constrict, something that had never happened before. Was it because of the food?  
Then he started laughing. His laughter was not loud, but muffled, partially constrained and barely audible. It sounded more like stifled coughing.

"Ah, you're laughing!" Rimm exclaimed, giving a lopsided smirk, as if it was a big deal. In a way it was.

He had never laughed like this before, without being able to hold back.  
Was it simply because her stomach had growled that he laughed? What was so amusing about that?

"Laughing?" he asked, his expression changing into one of question. Something tugged at his lips, and he feared it was a smile. Rimm laughed as well, unaware of his inner conflicts.

The next minutes passed fast, as she kept him occupied by asking random questions, and Sephiroth avoided giving her any straight answers.  
He felt oddly light inside. Then Rimm gestured at the clock.

"Perhaps you should go home, before someone starts missing you too much," she suggested, watching the clock above the door.  
"No one is waiting." That seemed to wake her up, and she turned to him.

"...No one? No family? ...Then, who do you live with?" she tried carefully, apparently trying to avoid making him feel uncomfortable. He hadn't felt sad in the first place. Why would he?  
"I have no friends, but I know people. That is enough," he said with a faint frown on his face.

His words were followed by a long silence, in which she withstood his strong, emerald stare. Unable to hold his bright eyes with her own pea-colored ones, she turned away. He did not. Would Hojo be mad if he was late? Or would he be pleased, considering that this was, after all, supposed to be punishment?

"Then, can _I_ be your friend?" Rimm asked, turning back to him with an expression that looked almost comically lazy . It appeared to him as if she was trying to rid them of the awkwardness from earlier. There was no doubt about it. She was trying to humor him. To keep him entertained.

"...If you want to. But Hojo mustn't know," Sephiroth stated, but immediately regretted it.

Frowning, he rose to his feet with grace that few others could ever hope to manage. Once Rimm got up, she watched him stride to the door and swaggered after him, apparently swelling with pride. Even though he knew she was doing that because she wanted to cheer him, _a child_, up, he couldn't stop his lungs from constricting again when he turned to look at her. This time, however, his face remained calm and he did not laugh out loud. His... _friend_... ignored it, and kept strutting down the hall, past the secretaries and guards who worked late. They also had trouble holding back smiles at her foolish behavior. Smiling was apparently contagious.  
But not dangerous.

_**

* * *

**_Sephiroth never told Hojo that his 'punishment' failed. On the contrary; he pretended to be exhausted and weary when returning from the kitchen. In reality he was only slightly tired, but not at all fatigued. Somehow, getting his first friend had been worth it, despite his regrets when he first accepted her offer. Therefore, during the next days and weeks, he made sure to do his best and _hurry_ every time Hojo tested him. That way he was allowed to walk around more, and eventually he was allowed to go to the floor that held the kitchens when he had the time.

However, because he felt uncomfortable due to his lack of knowledge in friendship matters, he needed to try to learn from Rimm. Without her noticing it. In the beginning she smuggled a little something for them from time to time. Sephiroth used his remarkable stealth to get hold of a few food articles on his own, then shared it with an increasingly thrilled Rimm. The largest food article he had smuggled before the chef locked the fridges, cabinets and food storages, was a big box filled with brownies. He had never seen a happier expression than Rimm's when he offered her some. Her face and eyes had expressed pure bliss when she ate. Then again, he usually _never_ saw people who were pleased enough to smile. Gradually, the ink from the fiend he'd fought earlier disappeared, first leaving his hair dark gray, then light gray. Currently his hair was almost completely silver again. Rimm never mentioned it.

It did not stop there. The two started working harder so they could leave the kitchen a little earlier, then went somewhere else to eat whatever they found. Sephiroth caught himself wondering what kind of 'food-borrowing' challenge she would come up with next. The cooks were suspicious, but eventually started ignoring Sephiroth altogether. He didn't mind as long as Hojo did not find out. At the time being he just had to stay low. It was almost... too easy.

"Your hair looks lighter than usual. Wasn't it very dark the first time we met?" Rimm asked, looking at him through narrowed eyes. She and Sephiroth were in one of the many common rooms relaxing. Because it was late, no one else were there. Only a few light were on.

"...The first time I was sent to the kitchen, I had ink in my hair. I was being punished for letting a fiend do that to me. My hair is actually silver," he explained, waiting for her reaction. It was normal that people asked him why his hair looked like that. He didn't know why. Hojo said it was because he was _special._ He was not entirely sure if that was positive or negative.

"Silver? Like gold and colorful jewelry?" she asked, and Sephiroth frowned. She could see for herself.  
"My hair is not _jewelry_, but the color may resemble that of certain silver accessories," he said.

"Oh... Sorry. I can't see that," she said, moving her arms so that they hung behind the sofa she occupied. Sephiroth eyed her from his stress-less chair.  
"What do you mean." It was a demand, and her response was an awkward smile. Her reluctant frown didn't last for too long, though.

"I can't see colors. I'm color-blind." she said, looking at him to see his reaction.

He didn't know what _she_ was thinking, but personally, he had never heard of such a thing.  
What was he supposed to say to a person who couldn't see colors? He had never heard of such a thing.

"...Silver hair is... uncommon," he said simply. If she hadn't been color-blind, would she have avoided him because of his unusual looks? Would she have chosen not to be his friend?

"Uncommon is good," she said, squinting at him with her pea-colored eyes.

_**

* * *

**_"Hey, Sephiroth, I have an idea!" Rimm said, more excited than he was used to. She was usually nonchalant, and even quite rude at times(especially towards people she knew), but not this noisy.

This time around they were sitting on the floor in a narrow hall; a dead end. People passed by from time to time, but no one looked in there. For once they had taken a break in the middle of the day, which was not too normal. They had nothing to eat, though. Not that it mattered much.

"What is it?" he asked in his usual way; slightly annoyed on the outside, and only a bit more curious on the inside.

"Do you think I can go see the scientists and ask them to help me see colors?" she asked.  
"...It would probably be better to go to a doctor or a hospital."  
"But I can't afford that..." Rimm continued, making an unusual sulky face.

Sephiroth looked at her pouting with distaste, knowing that if he ever tried that in front of Hojo, he would be dead meat. He had seen many fiends be cut apart while still living, not because they had done anything wrong, but because if Hojo _killed_ them first, they would disappear in a cloud of pyreflies before he could inspect them properly. He would rather not have to see Rimm being used in some experiment. Some times he wondered if Hojo knew far more than he let on. It was as if he was constantly hiding something.

"You could ask. Since they are Shinra scientists, perhaps they will have a look at you for free since you are a Shinra employee. But avoid professor Hojo," Sephiroth offered silently, reluctantly, not thinking she would go through with it any time soon.

"Huh... Thanks. I'll do that once. When is your birthday? I'll give you my thanks then, with a present or something," she mumbled, her eyes closed in a frown as if she was thinking deeply.

"I do not know my birth date," Sephiroth stated. Her frown deepened and she opened her eyes.

"...Oh. So you've never celebrated it?" she asked. He did not have to answer for her to know the answer.

Her eyes narrowed in thought for a while and she moved her hands behind her head for support. She still wore a hat, or _beanie,_ as she dubbed it, but not the same as before. Her shoulder-length hair was accompanied by a few _'_bowl-cut_' _forelocks, which went a little past her cheek bones. His own silver fringes were only slightly longer.

Sephiroth let the side of his head rest against the wall, with his ear against the cold surface. From the other side he could hear faint voices from a random meeting. He barely picked up some of the words, but they didn't tell him an awful lot. The higher-ups usually kept things to themselves.

_Fireworks... Expensive. Celebration, foolish New Year-_

"I have an idea now!" he heard Rimm say quietly, yet in an exited way, and turned just in time to catch the tiniest of smirks. He narrowed his eyes at her.

_**

* * *

**_Apparently, Rimm also knew about the events happening around New Year. He knew what New Year was, and he was also fully aware of the fact that it was celebrated every year. He did _not_, however, know _why_ it was such a big event. Years came and passed just like everything else. Personally he had never celebrated it. He had only listened from inside the building. Hojo had told him something about unnecessary excitement that would steal Sephiroth's focus on his training and his tests.

Nevertheless, in some unexplainable way, he had managed to smuggle himself out and away, to where Rimm was supposed to meet him.

"Come here! Hurry!" Rimm said in a hushed voice, walking fast. She bent over slightly, as if not to be seen walking around. Sephiroth's swift strides carried him after her easily, and both of them stopped in front of two glass elevators in the end of a hall.

"Okay, we have _two_ alternatives. One, we take a lift up and sneak past the President. Two, we take the stairs and pass a number of guards instead." she informed him.

"...It is better with just one person," he replied, feeling strange inside. It was excitement, he assumed, only stronger than usual. Rimm stepped inside the important-looking glass lift. He did not have to think twice before following. After that, however, he watched her use a strange looking card to unlock the highest floor available. The lift started moving and went up. A pressing silence ensued as he felt gravity pull him down a little more than usual as they moved up.

"How did you get that card?" he asked, his focus on the ground below them.

The lift was _fast._ While it was moving, it felt like his weight increased. That was because of the speed, he knew. Perhaps _that_ was why the President always used a helicopter to get to work.

"I borrowed it from the chef. She serves dinner to the higher-ups personally, so she has a key card," Rimm replied, looking up.  
"Does she _know?_"

"..."  
He watched her swallow as she looked down at him.

"I... actually borrowed it from... her private closet. Now... Let's hurry, or we'll be late."

Once they arrived at the President's office, they were surprised to not see him anywhere. Rimm said he had probably gone to the ground level to attend the festivities. That was most likely the case. To avoid being seen by the cameras, they ran along the walls through the dimly lit room, as fast as possible, and continued up the final stairs to the uppermost floor.

The roof.

"Christmas is already over, and it's New Year already. I still don't have money for a present for you, but I told you I'd give you _something._ I hope the fireworks will do," she said while looking at him with a guilty, sheepish face. A vague suspicion told him she was just acting. Or perhaps not.

They weren't a second too late. Rimm didn't even get to start a countdown before fireworks were all over the place. In all kinds of colors, they danced across the sky in hundreds of shapes and forms, some looking like hordes of pyreflies, others exploding, all of them dying after falling like illuminated rain for many long seconds each. It seemed as if stars were falling around them. Great suns spun around in the air and shattered, stunning lights coloring the dark blue expanse that was the sky. Even Rimm enjoyed the sight, despite not seeing all the colors. Sephiroth had never seen anything like it. No matter how ashamed of himself he would be later, he simply could not stop himself from staring with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth. He was absolutely stunned. Of course, letting Rimm see him like this was out of the question, so he made sure his face was out of her view.

Not that she noticed anything - she was to busy gawking at the sky.

_**

* * *

**_Some days later he went to the kitchen as usual only to find that Rimm hadn't been there since before New Year. That was quite visible; the place was a mess. He questioned a few of the cooks about it, but they shook their heads and shrugged. The chef, who seemed oblivious to the fact that Rimm had 'borrowed' her key card earlier, didn't know anything either. But she said that Sephiroth wasn't the only one who had been there looking for her. Even Rimm's father had been there a couple of times.

Sephiroth was not _worried._ The heavy feeling tugging at his chest was not concern, but rather _guilt._ What if the cameras had seen them when they were on their way to roof? The guards in the monitoring room could have spotted them. Had the Shinra officers found her later and arrested her? Should he do something? _Could_ he do something? The warm sensation of annoyance and heavy feeling of guilt was weighing him down the more he thought of it. It was completely opposite from the calm feeling of their friendship making him feel lighter. Rimm was not there, either because someone had _caught_ her, or because she had _left_ on her own. As much as he hated to admit it, the first option was not really likely, because then _he_ would have been taken as well.

Either way, his friend was gone.

_**

* * *

**_**-R-R-  
**

Rimm's age _will_ be explained, as will her appearance, her past, her objectives, (blah-blah-blah,) but _in time_, not all at once.  
_If you can't imagine how Rimm looks, I'll be posting **pictures** of her on DeviantArt. There's a link to my DevArt profile on my fanfic profile...  
_


	2. The Return of the General

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy.

THANK YOU for the reviews! And, seriously, Tracy, your comment radiates encouragement! You sure know how to make me _**thiiiiiis** happyyy!_  
**I promise to lighten your confusion, so please read **_**carefully!**_ ...But do enjoy the story as well... **:)**

* * *

Return of the General

* * *

Fifteen years had passed. Despite his young age, Sephiroth was already General and in charge of every single military unit of Shinra, and he possessed enough authority to stand up against even the President if he wished. Despite the number of people with more political power than himself, he found himself able to stand against them on many occasions. Of him to say they feared him was not an exaggeration. However, as pride was what most of his personality consisted in, he did never waste his time undermining others. Nor did he brag, not once, despite his many strengths. For now he was pleased with his position within Soldier. As long as the others did not order him to do something completely unacceptable, such as leading another war, he would stay silent and oblige to whatever they deemed necessary for Shinra's future. In a numb, unfeeling way, he was content. There was nothing else to do for him. Not now.

Rimm had already been a vague memory for years. Back then, when he was only a child having lived for eight short years, he had felt guilt at her disappearance, but he had also felt hope. A naïve hope that they would meet again soon. After only a couple of months had passed, that hope had turned into the opposite - hopelessness. Upon first feeling this heavy sensation first take hold of him - not too long after Rimm's disappearance - Sephiroth had slowly turned angry and annoyed. He had realized his mistake. In turn he had started letting down others because he expected that if he did not, they would also leave at some point. Thus his conclusion had been to avoidall potential friends before they became just that - _friends._ Such contacts would to no good. They were, like many other persons whose names escaped him; _distractions._

So he had decided to make an attempt at forgetting Rimm.

With his excellent mind and memory, however, it never was that easy. He could only suppress the image of her in his mind to a certain degree and ignore it when it surfaced. With time, it had stopped coming back to him.

Then he had been sent to Wutai to fight in the war.

The war had lasted for five years, and after it finished he had stayed behind to bury Shinra Soldiers and other Shinra military units. At least that was what had been his excuse. At that time, he also stayed behind to help the Wutaians bury their fellow villagers. They thanked him and carefully indicated that he was, in truth, a respectable and noble person. In Shinra, and also in Midgar, he even came to be known as a hero. That was not true; he was, in a sense, self-centreredegoistic. He _did _bury many of the Wutaian villagers and gave each of them tombstones on which he carved their names with his Masamune, yes. But he had only done so to ease his _own_ guilt - to lighten the burden placed upon his shoulders. He had killed many. Slaughtered them, without any other reason than the fact that Wutai had been unwilling to let go of their control when Shinra came. Because he felt like he _had to_, he had stayed behind for quite a while after his troops left, despite the President's loud demands of his return. The war was done, just like that, with no consequences for himself. All he had to do was to return to Midgar and keep working. This had created something in him, something akin to _bitterness_; faint, yet very much _excisting_ rancor that would not fade.

Now, twenty-four years old, he was back in his old office. The nostalgia was overwhelming, to say the least. Whether that sensation was good or bad not did not matter - if the latter was the case, he would simply suppress and ignore it.

Whatever had happened while he was gone?

* * *

_"Now, off you go," was the last thing she heard the white-clothed man say, and handed her a paper before she left. The words were not spoken kindly, but rather with some urgency and impatience. _

_That didn't matter. Rimm was too busy exploring the corridors and objects, and all the passing people. Colors she did not know the name of graced every tiny things she put her eyes upon, letting her orbs drink the view as the impression manifested in her mind, hopefully to remain. She hoped to always remember that indescribable sensation of seeing something new - something she had never seen before. Her wide-eyed journey through the unfamiliarly colored halls eventually led her astray. The feeling of bliss only made her aimless wander more dream-like, and she had a feeling she was smiling like a kid in wonderland, because somebody stopped her by tapping her shoulder._

_"You lost?" the man asked, and Rimm was once again sent into a stupor by a new color: the man's hair. It was in a ponytail, and he wore goggles, but it was the radiant hue that caught her eyes.  
"I'm Reno of the Turks. I don't think you belong here. It's the wrong floor, yo."  
"...Rude," said the bald man next to him. She didn't notice him before now._

"Oh, sorry, I'm... I'm Rimm. Kitchen assistant."

"Really? ...So, you are _lost?" the Reno-person asked. She nodded, frowning a little before averting her eyes._

_Come to think of it, how long had she stayed in that lab? For some days? Her mind and memory was perfectly clear, but that was because the scientists had done everything right. Or so she guessed. Either way, now that she could see colors, everything looked unfamiliar. Perhaps they had moved her between different floors during her treatment. That was likely. And it wasn't dangerous to get lost. She didn't even have to pay them for handling anything. But still, how embarrassing it was to get lost _here, _of all places. She worked here, after all, even if she stayed in the kitchen most of the time. And she and little, adult-like Sephiroth had ventured all over the place. And now, all corridors looked the same, and no people looked particularly familiar. It was all a mass of colors._

_"Heh. How 'bout we show you the way to the employment manager?"_

Both of them showed the way after Rimm gave an overly confident nod, and told her on the way that they were Turks(or, Reno _told her). Increasingly numbed by the mass of colors, she, too, told them that the scientists had helped her with her eyes so she could see colors. Right about then, Reno's behavior changed and he grabbed random, colorful things to show her on the way, such as flowers, handkerchiefs with patterns, and movie posters. By the time they got to the employment manager, she was in to much of a daze to speak comprehensive sentences. The man took the paper given to her by the scientist, then gave her another one. After he waved her out of the office, Reno took the paper and revealed to her that she was to be sent to the Upper Kitchen, that is, the kitchen closest to the upper floors, which was to deal with food for the higher-ups. Hearing this shook her out of her stupor, and she frowned deeply._

_"What the heck? I'm a kitchen assistant in the worst kitchen in the building," was what she said. At this, Reno looked surprised, but grinned._

_"So, you can talk after all?"_

_Before, she used to clean dishes and mop floors around the clock in one of the kitchens of the lower floors. But now, according to the sheet given her by the employment manager, she would be working as a 'lunch deliverer' from now on. Strange, for sure, but on second thought, she wouldn't tell them _that. _If she did, she might lose the job and they would send her back down again, and her pay would turn lousy. To her, the new job seemed great. But she needed to get to know all the people of the upper floors to find out where to deliver the food. Then again, that was a small price to pay._

_"Yeah..."  
_

_And after more than just a little chatting, she returned to the apartment she and her dad shared(of some reason, __the address was written on the sheet given to her earlier. Didn't they think she would remember where she lived?__), but he wasn't there. That was just what her father usually did, though. He occasionally disappeared to go see her mum. In Gongaga. Then he would return later, be it days, weeks or months. He knew she could handle herself. And she knew he'd return one time or another. So she stayed. And gradually, she got used to her new job as a lunch deliverer.  
_

_But she still hadn't seen Sephiroth, even when she visited the lower floors. Had he moved somewhere?_

_...  
_

That happened one year ago.

Right now, Rimm was slouching in her old, worn-out stress-less chair, ignoring the chill that ran down her spine. Knowing her old apartment was not of the most expensive homes available, she brushed it off as a small breeze having made its way through an open window or a crack in a wall. Her apartment was'nt much to boast about. She was renting it from Shinra. Ignoring the chill, she read through her journal again. It was from about one year ago - each paragraph with a color of its own, which was written with crayons she had bought right after her 'surgery' - when the scientists let her go. At that time, the crayons with different colors had been like magic wands. One had sprouted the color of fire, one the color of the sky, one the color of plants and greenery, and so on.

Wrinkling her nose, Rimm dropped her one-year-old journal to the already messy table and got to her feet.

Today it was exactly one year since the scientists had let her go. And one year since she had been given her unexpected promotion. In the beginning she had been thoroughly confused when she hadn't found anyone she _knew_, but Shinra had apparently done a massive 'clean-out' while she was visiting the scientists. She was lucky she had avoided it. The entire building had been partially renewed, and old employees had been replaced, according to Reno. He also blamed it on the fact that all the people _she_ knew, _never _visited the upper floors. So she wouldn't see them in a while, probably. But now she had some new people to hang with. During this one year she had made a _few_ good friends, some as sloppy as herself, and her new job was not nearly as tiring as her old one. She had already been working in the kitchen for a while, delivering lunch to the higher-ups. It was okay.

Since then she had changed - her hair was longer, reaching below her shoulders, but she still had 'bowl-cut' forelocks framing her face: straight fringes hiding her cheekbones. Before the scientists had a look at her, her eyes had been pea green. (She had been color blind, yes, but her parents had told her on plenty occasions that her eyes were pea green. It sounded odd, and still did.) Now her eyes were different. They were gray. As ever, she was rudely honest, a bad habit steadily growing every time people (mainly Reno) insulted her. Around higher-ups, on the other hand, her mouth was shut and her eyes always watched the floor. She figured she had some sort of minor inferiority complex. Or so Reno said(who by the way had a superiority complex, if that included acting rudely towards the bigwigs).

Ready to go, Rimm grabbed her keys and left her apartment, then hurried towards the Shinra headquarters.

Today was an important day.

Apparently the super-great and indescribably magnificent General (as described by plenty of people) had returned from Wutai. She had never seen him, nor even heard his name, and didn't ask anyone either. _Everyone _knew him. They simply called him 'the General', as if speaking his true name before he came back was unacceptable. If she ever dared to ask, no one would believe her when she said she had no idea who he was. Judging from the whispers she had heard, however, people were ready to wish him welcome with posters, paparazzi photographers, secretaries and everything else a celebrity could ever wish for for. She hadn't seen any posters yet, though. If all the newspapers and magazines weren't sold by the time she was done for the day, she would buy one to find out more. She could afford it... If not, she could search for newspapers that others had thrown away.

She sped up, not wanting to be late. After all, _she _was the lunch deliverer who would get to meet the General in person. She even got to see President Shinra in person if he was in the mood for the lunch she usually delivered. The higher-ups of Shinra _never_ went to the cafeteria willingly, as if they did, they would be strangled, hugged, squealed at, taken pictures of, and be kissed to death. Not comfortable, she was sure. Therefore she always needed to be on time. Even the less attractive bigwigs were targeted, simply because they had money - and a great deal of power and influence. Midgar had no ruler, no king. But President Shinra had no need for a title like that to command others. He had all the power he needed. He was - and would be for as long as he lived - the undeclared ruler of Midgar, and many other cities all over the world.

But even now, a full year after her 'eye-surgery', she was _still_ confused. She had yet to meet even _one _of the persons she knew before. They couldn't all be fired, she was sure of it. Perhaps they were avoiding her(...perhaps they had found out that she had been stealing food). If this kept up, perhaps she should just go back to her hometown, Gongaga. But not just yet. Her dad would probably return soon. It wasn't unusual for him to vanish and then reappear months later. In Gongaga, no one had phones, and there was no such thing as a post office, so she would just wait.

* * *

Sephiroth watched the piles of paperwork from his position behind his desk.

_No._ They were not piles of paperwork. They were _mountains_ of paperwork. It was _almost_ amusing.

For a brief second he wanted to load it all on his back and carry it to the Midgar Zolom and let that snake eat it all, but that would be impossible. Why? Simply because he would never become strong enough to carry _that much_ paperwork at once. It was humiliating. The papers were humiliating him.

For another second, he considered cutting them to pieces with his Masamune. He dismissed that thought fast, however, because he could not imagine himself exposing his sword to such a torture. He was not about to let the infamous blade of Masamune be dulled by the stacks of paper. No matter how much he despised admitting it, there was a slim chance that even _his_ sword would be defeated by those papers. The tombstones on which he had carved names with his sword was nothing in comparison. This was starting to turn into a problem - one that would last for years if he slacked.

These thought only occupied his mind for a maximum of one second - he allowed for no such things as laziness or other ridiculous thoughts enter his mind after regaining control of his mind. Never would he speak of this to anyone. He would - without complaining even the slightest - read through and sign the papers that needed signing, fill the forms which required it, and then deliver them all to whoever needed them next. And he would do so at remarkable speed, so as to catch up as quickly as possible. He did not wish for others to view him as a person who easily postponed his-

_A knock._ At the door of his office.

"Enter," he said, doubting the person on the other side of the door could hear him through the thick wall.

After some long seconds the handle was pushed down only partially. Little by little, the handle was pushed down even more, until it could no longer go down any more. Whoever was on the other side had problems opening the door. A tiny, yet increasing worry of receiving more paperwork crept into his mind, and for a moment his jade eyes were about to stare holes in the door in murderous anticipation. Then he calmed himself yet again, thinking that if he simply worked a little faster than originally planned, he would be able to resume his training. Then again, why hadn't his secretary taken care of his paperwork? Did he not have one stationed here, in Midgar, during the war? Either way, if more piles of work were given to him now, he would end up drowning in his own paperwork. A number of stacks were already half an inch from touching the ceiling. Was that how the previous General died? If that was the case, he would not be surprised.

Then the door was pushed open slowly, and a person walked inside _backwards,_ her arms full.

"Sorry, Mr. General, Sir... I'm- _I am_... here with your lunch," someone said. The chill that ran down his spine was strong enough to make him frown at himself.

The woman turned around to face him, but the lower part of her face was hidden by the numerous small boxes she held. Her eyes were turned down and focused on the things she held, and were partially hidden by dark fringes. Even so, he could see that her orbs were startlingly gray.

What did she say again? Lunch. Then, no paperwork. Sephiroth felt his shoulders relax as he breathed out. The sound resembled an impatient sigh.

"Could you please pick a lunch box for yourself? Someone in the kitchen broke a wheel on my trolley, and we didn't- did not have anything else for me to place the food on... I can't- _cannot_ move my arms like this," she said, visibly uncomfortable, obviously trying to speak formally as if to somehow nurse the bad first impression she thought she was giving him. When she came close enough, he stretched an arm over his desk and took hold of a box on the very top. She had yet to glance at him even once. By now, her practically helpless situation had made her cheeks burn. Behind her forelocks - which by the way were held in place by a beanie - he caught a glimpse of her frown. Still busy balancing the fast-food boxes she held, she backed out of the room and closed the door with some help from a foot.

"Sorry, and welcome back, Sir," was the last thing she said before the door closed completely.

He was left behind with an increasingly eerie feeling that had started growing the moment she entered. She seemed familiar.

* * *

After finishing her lunch delivery, Rimm raced to the closest common room and occupied the best sofa she could find, embarrased to death. She didn't get to spend much time on her inner conflicts before somebody joined her. Leaning backwards where she sat, her legs gathered in her arms, she saw Reno standing above her behind the sofa. The smirk seemed to be a mix between a curious smile and a mischievous leer. He obviously saw she was troubled, and she doubted he would keep it to himself after he found out. Or perhaps he would use this as blackmail in one way or another.

"The General didn't say anything at all..." Rimm mumbled. Reno walked around the sofa and sat down on a bar stool while she continued.  
"I didn't look, but it felt like he was staring holes in my head. Do you think he's really angry?" she mused, despair running from her in every possible way.

Reno nonchalantly waved her off.

"Why would that guy be angry? You sure he watched you at all? Perhaps he was just trying to ignore you," Reno said, not knowing whether to take her seriously or joke about it. Without looking away, he picked up his stun baton from a pocket and waved it lazily.

"Ah... I didn't exactly see him..." she admitted.  
"Then there's nothing to worry about, yo. Just make it up to him or something. Seriously, how long have you been working here?" Reno asked without expecting a reply, flashing a lopsided grin. The question was rethorical, but she replied nonetheless.

"Perhaps... well, some years, I guess. With a small break one year ago to fix my eyes. When I returned, you and Rude found me and guided me around, remember?" Rimm replied quietly, her eyes shut.

"Eh... You've said that before, but what was wrong with your eyes anyway?" Reno asked, squinting slightly.  
"...I couldn't see properly."

"What? You were blind?" he exclaimed in a hushed voice, beaming, earning many sets of eyes on him from people nearby.  
"No! Listen, I couldn't see _colors_, so I asked the scientists to have a look at it," she said.

"Aah... Why didn't you say so before?"

Reno nodded several times of no reason, but didn't say much after that. She _had _told him and Rude that before. Reno just hadn't listened. He still held his stun baton. Speaking of the baton, he had been waving it around a lot lately. Perhaps it was because the General was back. Reno didn't like him? Or perhaps he was contemplating the reason why she went to the _scientists_, of all people. Most scientists were kind and had good intentions, but the Shinra scientists had worse rumors roaming around about them. Still, one thing was for sure.

They had helped her.

"So... that's why you freaked out the first time you saw me? Because I have red hair, and you had never seen that color before?" Reno asked, sitting on the edge of his chair and supporting himself with his elbows on his knees. The stun baton was gone. How or when he had removed it she had no idea.

"Yeah. I remember that," she replied, thinking not only of her meeting with Reno and Rude, but also about a certain other person - for the second time that day.

It was a long time since she'd seen young, pale, big-eyed, adult-like Sephiroth. Where was he? Working somewhere else, or still being tested by that scientist, Hojo? If he was taller and looked a little bit older, she wouldn't be surprised. She had wanted to see his silver hair for twelve long months already. Was his hair really silver-colored, or was it gray or brown-gray-ish, or even metallic? Perhaps he'd been looking for her.

Then again, perhaps he had simply forgotten about her.

* * *

Sephiroth furrowed his brow when he looked out the window. The gray and black city, Midgar, was a huge contrast to the peaceful, green Wutai he had spent so many years in. In Wutai, people respected him. That was fine with him. In Midgar on the other hand, people _worshiped_ him. He was _not _fond of that. They should work hard themselves, and aim high.

To mark his return, posters of him holding his blood-covered Masamune were popping up everywhere, one after another. People were frightened of him, but looked up to him with awe all the same. In spite of this, while everybody else hung out with their friends, _he_ only had subordinates. If he ever bothered to 'hang out' with them, they would frantically try to impress and please him in all imaginable ways. It was, as professor Hojo had once said, because Sephiroth was _special._ He was a human, and an extraordinary human at that. Thanks to extreme efforts he had managed to come this far. What was it he wanted?

...To be acknowledged.

Not only by the crowds, and not as the famous General of Shinra. What he wished was to be acknowledged for the person he was and the unique qualities he possessed, and not for the skills and abilities he had developed. In other words(to put it quite bluntly and even awkwardly), he searched for friendship. Friendship, which he had attempted evading for a long period of time, was developing into something he desired. A few had tried becoming his friends, but so far he had shoved them away not to become dependent on them. It was a habit. Also, it would be wiser of him to choose friends who could take care of themselves. Friends who did not need to be rescued, and comrades who his enemies could not use against him.

Friends who would not die.

As for now, the only one who was still trying to become his friend was Zack Fair. The man was still a 2nd Class Soldier, but was aiming for 1st Class. Sephiroth knew he had the potential. Was he an ideal friend?

The General glanced at the big clock above his door. Exactly fifty-nine minutes past nine. In one minute it would be ten o'clock in the morning. That was lunch time. After eating, he would have to continue doing paperwork. His wrist was already numb, as much as he hated admitting it. He had swung his Masamune for hours at end more than once during the Wutaian war. This, however, was different. He had discovered something he believed was far more painful than death by paper-cuts, paperwork-cuts, or simply paperwork. That was death by extreme-boredom-caused-by-more-than-five-years-of-paperwork-that-is-not-yet-finished. A slow death, in other words. As long as he did not speak of it loudly, he had temporarily allowed himself to simply _think _these things. But not for too long at a time.

Were he any weaker, he would use the energy granted to him by his lunch to walk over to the window and jump out. However, if he did not die from the fall, even more paperwork would be waiting for him once he got out of hospital. Needless to say, he did not even consider walking _close_ to the window.

The very second the clock turned ten, someone knocked at the door. It then opened without a sound.

"Lunch for you, Sir," the woman said, today only holding one box in her hands, displaying extreme dicipline and confidence compared to the day before. Under the surface, however, he sensed nervousness. A trolley with the rest of the white lunch boxes was in the corridor behind her. Hopefully the box was filled with lunch that was a little healthier than the fast-food he had received yesterday. His choice of lunch box had not been te best. But today, the lunch deliverer seemed to be more prepared.

The trolley made things easier for her for sure. Even so, she seemed uncomfortable. She did not look straight at him(he noticed this only because he was looking _straight at her_ - an observing habit he had gained by analyzing the state of his enemies and his allies in the Wutai war). A few of her forelocks still hid her face. She placed the lone, white box of food on his desk and dared to glance up. He barely caught a glimpse of the odd, gray color of her eyes before she stepped back as if struck by lightning. Then, hastily, she jerked around and left. Sephiroth was once again left in wonder as she (quietly) shut the door. The last thing he heard was the trolley-table with lunch boxes squeaking loudly upon being rolled away. She had hurried because of his stare? ...Or?

...At first he had thought she was familiar.

An image of Rimm touched his inner eye for a brief second, then disappeared. That woman did look like Rimm. But not much. That person being Rrimm was, of course, absolutely impossible. Rimm had vanished fifteen years ago. If they ever met again, she would be more than thirty years old. The lunch deliverer was nineteen at most. Sure, she had the same beanie and the same brown hair color, only her hair was somewhat longer, but the Rimm he remembered did not have odd-looking gray eyes. If he recalled correctly, she had hazel eyes. Or were they a little more green than that? ...Pea-colored. That was how he recalled mentally describing her eyes. In other words the lunch-deliver woman was a normal person with normal hair and eyes. She was not Rimm.

He found his paperwork was to blame for such a random piece of his past to resurface.

* * *

Rimm raced as fast as she could towards the offices of the Turks. With her blood rushing in her veins and her heart pounding at a pace she believed was impossible, she tried breathing in enough air to be able to keep running, while at the same time calming herself down. She was shocked. The General had long silver hair! _Silver and long!_ The shape of his face, although adult, reminded her so much of the young Sephiroth that she didn't know what to think. That couldn't just be a coincidence. With fists clenched tightly, she ran through halls and doors, small, labyrinth-like corridors and down a number of stairs. She needed to solve this as soon as possible, or else it would bother her so much she would never be able to sleep again.

Perhaps the General was Sephiroth's father. Yes, that had to be it. Both of them working for Shinra wasn't really unlikely. The Sephiroth she remembered couldn't _possibly_ have grown that much in a single year. What the heck was she thinking? ...But, _oh, _how he had frightened her. Sephiroth's big eyes in her mind were almost erased, replaced with those narrow, startling eyes of the General.

"Reno?" she breathed. His super-ultra-mega messy office was empty, with the exception of the living piles of fast-food, so she ran to the office next door and tried again.  
"Rude?"

The professional Turk gave no reply, but turned to her to show he listened. She inhaled deeply a few times, her knees shaky.

"Does the General have... a son who is... about... nine or ten years old?" she asked between breaths, holding onto the door frame. Her stamina was, according to a joke once uttered by Reno, worse than Heidegger's. To tell the truth, she was glad Reno wasn't nearby to make fun of her about it. Rude was far more subtle.

"No," Rude said in a stoic manner, looking at her simply, without asking why she wondered about such a thing.

Rimm's eyes wandered aimlessly around his office and came to a sudden stop when she spotted a big poster with a picture of the General. What graced the poster was the General's long and silvery hair, his jade eyes, leather clothes, and a long sword with blood on it. If that man was not Sephiroth's father, then who was he? Rude followed her stare.

"...Reno put that poster there. He said I should practice throwing arrows on it. Apparently... the General steals attention."

"What is the General's name, exactly?" Rimm asked, aware she sounded stupid. If she would have looked at Rude while asking that question, she would have seen him was arching a brow at her.

"Sephiroth."

* * *

**-R.R-**

She knows he is Sephiroth. He doesn't know she is Rimm. She won't tell him she _is _Rimm.


	3. At Your Service

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

Don't skip the Hojo part, even if you want to shove dirt old socks in his mouth every time you are reminded about him.  
Annnd... _please_ point out my mistakes/typos/errors, because that's the only way I can get better!

* * *

At your service

* * *

Rimm was, she admitted, ignorant at times. But she was not stupid enough to think that Sephiroth had grown _that_ much in a single year. Such a thing was not possible.

That left her with a growing suspicion telling her that _she_ had been _kept from aging._ She didn't know how, but did _not_ try to stop her decreasing trust towards the scientists. They all had a hand in this, she was sure of it. But even if they had, there wasn't much she could do about it. If she tried confronting them, they would refuse and act as if they knew nothing. No one else would believe her. Then she would be fired for her accusations, and she'd end up broke with nowhere to live and no money to get her back home. In the worst case scenario she could risk being experimented on one more time. What could she say?

"_Excuse me, send me back in time right now."_ No. Even Shinra couldn't create a time machine.  
"_Can you explain what happened?"_ As if they'd reveal their secrets to her.  
"_Pay me for all the years I missed."_ Yeah. Hah. Right.

Back then she had only known a few people, and only had one friend who lasted long enough to get to know her. That was Sephiroth. But she had also had her parents. Her father used to work as a Shinra guard and earned what he needed for a living. The leftovers were sent to her mother who lived on the western continent - in Gongaga.

Not wanting to dig it all up, Rimm gave a shaky sigh and made a thoroughly displeased frown.

As for _general_ Sephiroth, he probably didn't recognize her at all. If he found her familiar or suspicious, he didn't say anything about it. The more she thought of him, the more unworthy she felt. What could she do? Suddenly she did absolutely not fit in. Back when she and Sephiroth had first met, despite the fact that he was younger than her, there had existed a feeling of mutual respect and some sort of _equality _between them. Now he was not only taller, stronger and older than her(or at least he _looked_ older), but he was one of the most important persons on the Planet. _She_ was _not._ Sure, she delivered food that brightened the day of the men, and diets that pleased the women, but that was all. Every now and then one of her jokes was spread via the speaker Reno sometimes 'borrowed' from the surveillance room, but that was as far as her popularity went. Some of the secretaries occasionally made a noticeable effort to make her stay home or take some days off, simply so that the higher-ups would _have_ to go to the cafeteria in order to eat lunch, where the secretaries would be waiting with cameras and newly painted lips for their arrival. Strictly speaking, she was not exactly an idol. At all.

In the end she was only a random background-person compared to the General. Also, instead of being tall, skinny and tan, and instead of having beautiful skin and wearing short skirts and white, see-through blouses, like a few of the secretaries, she was an _average _person_._ At the time being, she wore a pair of baggy, washed-out pants and an equally worn-out tank top. Some times she changed into loose jeans and a t-shirt, but that was usually as far as her variation of clothes went. Instead of being awfully tan, Rimm was pale and tired most of the time. She was a tad stronger, or at least not as petite as many of the skinny secretaries, but compared to the others on the upper levels, she still lacked quite a lot. The bigwigs certainly knew how to make their subordinates feel worse than them. Scarlet, for instance, was the unofficial reason for the resignation of more than half of the secretaries the last year. In the history of Shinra, her cleavage was undefeated.

The President was the most _powerful_ person, but General Sephiroth had far more _popularity_ than him. Sephiroth had probably met thousands of people who were willing to die for the simple honor of shaking hands with him. Among all his military subordinates who fought to their death for his sake, and all of his loyal secretaries and important co-workers, as well as the Turks, he could not _possibly_ remember _her_. Not after that many years.

Currently, the value of their past friendship was nonexistent.

* * *

Hojo scrutinized the small glass window for the nth time that morning, narrowing his eyes at the slightest sign of movement from the being within. The pale, blue skin, the bluish silver hair, as well as the white eyes with a faint, purple glow - and that constant and dull smile, frozen in place so long ago that it would never falter.

Jenova seemed to shine with intelligence.

"Do you what Jenova is?" he asked languidly, addressing the only other scientist in the room while still watching the extraterrestrial creature that had granted him his path to success.  
"Isn't Jenova a Cetra, which are sometimes called Ancients? They lived on the Planet a long time ago," the lowly scientist replied, his voice shaky.

Wrong.

That was what Hojo wanted them all to believe. He let the tiniest of smirks to flee across his face upon thinking about it. The Ancients _had_ lived on the Planet a long time ago, that was correct. Jenova, however, was _not_ an Ancient, nor even from this Planet. She, or he - for Jenova could also be a male, despite its looks - was an extraterrestrial life form whose sole ambition was to gather power, energy and knowledge. Or so he believed. Years ago he had given a Turk a lethal dose of Jenova's cells, and as a result, the cells let the Turk mutate into different shapes upon receiving enough energy. The name of the Turk was Vincent Valentine. He had been a bother, indeed. But unlike his other Jenova experiments, Vincent had been treated by another bothersome scientist later. She had been dead for a long time. Also, Vincent had not been given any Mako injections during the duration of the Jenova experiments.

His greatest Jenova project, on the other hand, had gotten a fair share of said substance before he was even born. In the womb of his biological mother, Sephiroth was given Jenova cells that could evolve _with_ him instead of _against _him. When Hojo tried to give others - adult humans and children - a similar treatment, the Jenova cells were either rejected or they caused a failed mutation. The experiments became delusional or started hallucinating. As a result, Hojo had come to a conclusion. To him it seemed obvious that the _earlier_ he used the cells on his experiments, the _better_ they turned out. If he wanted the cells to work on adults or younger humans, they had to go through a very long process of adaption, so that their bodies did not reject the Jenova cells. That, however, was quite a bother and took awgully long. It was not easy to keep a human experiment for too long - not when it was illegal. So giving one single injection of Jenova cells before birth (and therefore not needing to inject more later) was more ideal by far.

Sephiroth had no idea.

He though he was a normal human with _potential._ The other scientists all believed Sephiroth had the blood of the Ancients running in his veins. That was incorrect. The only ones who knew the truth behind Sephiroth's existence were himself, Lucrecia, Vincent Valentine and professor Gast. None of them would talk, of different reasons that were of no concern to Hojo.

And the only one who knew Hojo was Sephiroth's biological father, was himself.

"...It is about time to call in Sephiroth again. Next week. He will have improved since last time," Hojo said.  
"Then, I will make sure he gets a message as soon as possible," the scientist said, hurrying out of the labs without waiting for Hojo to reply.

_When did this start?_

When had Hojo started getting sick of his smaller experiments? ...Ever since he found out Sephiroth was his only true success, of course. And if Sephiroth was a success simply because he had had the Jenova cells since before he was born, Hojo could only _imagine_ what might happen if Sephiroth were to have an offspring of his own. If he were to have one, it would inherit Sephiroth's Jenova cells and could possible become even more powerful than his father(because, of course, the offspring would have Jenova cells at an even earlier point that its father). With this knowledge - and if he could ever get his hands on enough specimens - Hojo could create an unrivalled army in which every soldier was twice as strong as the current 1st Class Soldiers. Some would surpass Sephiroth. It would take time, and he would need many subjects to experiment on, but it would be worth it. Imagine - humans enhanced to the greatest degree possible.

But it was not that simple. Naturally, if two specimens with the _same_ cells mingled, there was a chance that their offspring would be malformed or mutated in a way that he would not favor. In other words, if two specimens with the same Jenova cells had children, they would not be nearly as strong as their parents.

_Therefore_, exactly _sixteen_ years ago, Hojo had made an excavation all on his own. He knew from observing normal humans that living without company would eventually tear them down mentally - devour them from the inside, so to speak - even if they did not notice or acknowledge this fact on their own. Some sort of relationship with another being, whether it was with family, friends, rivals, even pets, or anything else, _ties_ were crucial for the growth of the humans. As Jenova was similar to a human in many ways, Hojo had come to the conclusion that she, or he, could not have traveled the universe for such a long time without company. In other words, he doubted Jenova had descended to the Planet _alone._

And he had been right.

A being only _he_ knew of - a creature not spoken of in _any _records, reports or other papers that others than only he himself had access to - was what he found. The creature had not even been whole; the only part of the body that had remained intact was its torso and parts of its head. And even those were decaying when he had found them. With the same pale, blue skin and the bluish gray hair, this creature was undoubtedly an extraterrestrial life form, the same as Jenova. Hojo's examinations had confirmed it. At that time he even gave it a name similar to Jenova - _Nova._ He was well aware that both names sounded feminine, but that was of no consequence. They were only names. Labels. Nova's eyes and teeth were missing, as were most of the vital organs, and the specimen was long dead. But it still had _cells._

That meant he had two _different_ kinds of cells. If both the Nova and the Jenova cells were given to the _same_ person, nothing extraordinary would happen. He had already tried that. Before, he had tried mating two fiends that both had Jenova cells, but their offspring ended up either dead or mutated beyond usefulness. _However,_ when he had tried giving the Nova cells to a fiend that didn't have any Jenova cells, then made that specimen mate with another specimen that _had_ Jenova cells and not Nova cells, their offspring grew powerful so fast that Hojo had been forced to call the Turks to exterminate them.

Large parts of the Shinra Headquarters had been destroyed because of that.

Naturally, Hojo had been taken in for interrogation. The Turks wanted to know what could possibly have caused so much damage. It became increasingly hard to hide Nova, and even his own subordinates were suspicious.

Then, by coincidence, a certain person had waltzed into the labs and rudely and awkwardly asked them to _fix her eyes_.

He found her arrival quite convenient, as he could no longer hide the existence of Nova(If Nova's existence was revealed, they would insist not to use it for anything else than _history studies, _to find out more about the past of the Planet, since they would obviously think that Nova, too, was an Ancient. However, if they found out that a Jenova-carrier and a Nova-carrier could have offspring with devastating powers, they would, _without a doubt, _get rid of Nova for their own and Shinra's safety). So, Hojo had assisted her with what she needed help with. But without telling her, he also exposed her to a small amount of the newly found Nova cells. She was young enough for the cells to work with her and not against her - it was not usual for him to be given a chance to work with specimens that were not yet complete adults. She had stayed in a confined space, much similar to what happened to the Valentine Turk about twenty-five years ago. Only now, after her body had gotten used to the cells of Nova and did not reject them, he gave her more. When the others asked why he kept her in the labs for such an extended period of time, he simply claimed it was to ensure that her eye treatment was successful. When no one watched, however, he moved her elsewhere - into the lab libraries which was locked to everybody except for himself - and when the others asked where she was, he said he had already released her. They believed him. He had to rid himself with pretty much all that was left of Nova, with the exception of a few, small dosages he occasionally gave her.

That way the last remains of Nova were disposed of. This did not worry Hojo, as if he wished, he could extract Nova's cells from that woman.

After approximately fifteen years in which she had barely aged a day in the tube she had been confined in, he let her go. She was most likely oblivious to the fact that fifteen years had passed. She was confused and suspicious, naturally, and it was only a question of time before she noticed what had happened, but that did not matter. She was not in the position to make credible accusations against himself or the other scientists. Before he let her go, he had fixed the files and papers about her, making it believable that she worked in one of the upper floors where he could keep an eye on her when she delivered food. No one would believe her if she started saying she had been "imprisoned" and "experimented with". Some of the other scientists were even on her lunch delivery list, which meant that if she for some reason did not show up for work, he would know.

It was crucial that his only living specimen with Nova cells was not exposed to danger. The other Nova specimens were long dead after his experiments(The Turks had mercilessly slain them for the damage they had done to the Shinra Headquarters). He admitted that he might have been carried away for a while, but this time he would be patient.

Back when this Rimm character first showed up, he had believed no one would miss her.

_Project R_ was still not finished. The Nova cells were already injected, but he was not sure whether the specimen would be able to handle being exposed to _Mako_. That was the most critical stage of the experimentation. She had already started aging after recovering from her cryopreservation. But there was no telling what would happen after she received the Mako treatment.

For now, he would have to focus on Sephiroth and his tests.

* * *

She had to avoid Sephiroth. She had to! ...She was desperate so it was really important and she could not fail or she would fall into an abyss of doom and shock and the next time she saw him all would be lost if she couldn't keep her face straight. He was intelligent. Dangerously smart and incredibly... knowledgeful. Or knowledgeable. That meant that if he saw her and _recognized_ her, he would obviously want to find out how in the name of the Planet she was still the same person after fifteen years. Speaking of which, had she started aging again, or would she be doomed to live like a random eighteen-year-old lunch deliverer until she died by a disease or was killed? ...No. Her hair had grown. The scientists had cut her hair right before she left the labs, before she even found out how long it was. After that, it had grown at normal pace. It fell past her shoulders now. That had to mean she was aging, right?

...Right?

"I'm coming in..." she said, wincing at her weak voice. This was _not _how she should be acting! _Confidence!_ She had to radiate _control_, and even arrogance if needed! Sephiroth was the last on her list for today, and she had already delivered the rest of the lunch, so she should be perfectly prepared. Most people were pleased as long as they got lunch before a quarter past ten.

No one answered. Anxiously, she opened his door and went inside.

_He wasn't there._

Suddenly intensively relieved, Rimm placed the last lunch box on his desk a little bit too confidently and smiled as she gave an exaggerated sigh of contentment. This had to be one of her luckier days. She would simply have to come see him some other time. The act of postponing sure felt good. She turned to watch the piles of paperworks in the corner of the room. Her eyebrow twitched at the sight, her bliss momentarily disturbed. Even though a lot of the piles still touched the ceiling(or almost), nearly _half of them_ were gone. Had he finished that much already? ...That wasn't humanly possible. No postponing or delaying in _this_ office, that much was obvious. Perhaps his secretaries had offered to help him with it.

Swallowing without a sound, indescribably pleased that _she_ did _not _have paperwork, she turned to leave.

A tall, silver-haired, leather-clothed and jade-eyed man was in her way.

Heart stopping. Breathing halting. Eyes widening very suspiciously. Goosebumps.  
_...Pretend not to know him._ Radiate control! ...He didn't recognize her, right?

"Ah, sir... I left your lunch. Over there..." she said weakly, ashamed of herself. Again, where did her confidence go? When he did not reply, but rather eyed her with orbs colder than anything she had ever seen before, she gestured randomly in the direction of his desk, then at his paperwork. At this rate, her memory of the big, inteeligent, trusting eyes of the eight-year-old (yet adult-like and abnormally pale) Sephiroth, would be replaced with an image of narrowed eyes that looked more like jade daggers specifically designed to stab her into utter submission.

"...You are _really_ good at finishing your paperwork," she said. How incredibly awkward.

She needed to escape before his eyes murdered her or she died from embarrassment. Feigning nonchalance with severe difficulties, she glanced around the room and acted ignorant of his eyes. Did he recognize her? Did he? Perhaps he was just suspicious of her.

"Sorry to disturb you, I promise I didn't touch anything. So... I'll be going," she said, using the last of her willpower to move a single step closer. He didn't move from the open door.

Looking up, she tried to meet the daggers that were his eyes, and found she couldn't watch him at all. She lowered her gaze, but immediately found out that was a bad decision. _His long leather coat does not provide enough cover for his muscular chest. Must make mental note to never look at it again._ Rimm held back a frown and forced herself to move even closer while looking away, despite the fact that her knees were turning into something that reminded her of badly made jelly. Sephiroth did not follow her with his eyes, or so she thought - he seemed to be focusing on where she had been standing some seconds ago. When she came close enough, he simply sidestepped. Not trusting her voice any longer, Rimm simply smiled and nodded in immense relief, then escaped outside.

Still not sure if her voice would work the way she wanted it to, she took hold of the empty trolley and let it roll away while she turned and gave a small, awkward wave in Sephiroth's general direction. He didn't see it.

Noticing she was shaking and that her breathing was slightly uneven, she slapped her arm(which by the way was covered with goosebumps of fear) - and shook her head rather vigorously - to get a hold of herself.

What the _heck _was she doing?

* * *

Reno laughed loud enough to attract every single person on the floor to the common room they were in. To describe it quite precisely, he had no breath left at all, but kept laughing anyway. Rude had already swallowed numerous times, trying to hold back his mirth, and he had even cleared his voice to hide a few chuckles. Rimm, on the other hand, was _still_ trying to find a solution to her problem. For the last few minutes she had explained what happened with a great deal of terrified enthusiasm, gestures and overly frightened expressions. The red-haired Turk failed to see the seriousness of the situation. To add to her grumpy mood, she still had goosebumps.

"That made my day! And while you made a fool of yourself with cliché questions, Seph said _nothing?_" Reno asked, grinning.

"I don't see what's so funny!" she countered grumpily. Perhaps she should make _them_ deliver Sephiroth's lunch to him in her place. That would make them know how she felt. Then again, she had nothing to offer in return. Perhaps it was for the best. Avoiding Sephiroth would be suspicious in the long run.

"Okay, anyway... How 'bout this: We help you out, and _you_ take on a _challenge_ or two from me or Rude," Reno offered.

Rimm watched him with horror.

...Challenges. The challenges Reno made to keep him and the other Shinra workers entertained, were _infamous._

At least once a week, Reno came up with something crazy that got at least one of the Shinra employees in extreme trouble. It was a 'club' in which only the most daring persons got respect. Reno challenged them and himself with seemingly impossible missions. Examples from the past ran through Rimm's mind: People who tried stealing the President's precious office chair without getting caught, and letting a dog and a cat into the one of the upper floors of the Shinra Headquarters, spilling hot coffee on Scarlet on purpose just to see if she had any clothes she could change into other than that scarlet dress, putting sleeping pills in the food of the higher-ups, and so on. Some only for fun or to kill boredom, others genuinely dangerous challenges. She deliberately avoided them every time things like that were tried out.

"Why?" she demanded, frowning.

"If I deliver the lunch to Sephy-pot, you accept one challenge from me. Or, if you can talk Rude into deliverin' the food, _he_ gets to give you a challenge instead. Play your cards well, yo. Then we'll help you out."

"I'll... think about it..." she mumbled, earning a heavy pat on the shoulder. She had a feeling Reno was grinning behind her back.

* * *

Somebody knocked on his door, signalizing that lunch was coming. Sephiroth looked up with a face devoid of emotions, expecting the person who, despite all reason, he admitted to vaguely resemble Rimm.

"Morning, sunshine, or moonshine, whichever you prefer, Mr. Silver Hair," mocked the red-haired Turk, flashing a lopsided grin. Sephiroth felt his eyebrow twitch upon seeing that the man threw the lunch box from hand to hand, seemingly without worries as to what Sephiroth himself thought of said action. What was he trying to pull?

"Here ya go. Lunch deliverer is out sick and all, that's why she ain't here," the man informed, as if Sephiroth needed to know, then dropped the box on Sephiroth's desk. The lid opened, but nothing fell out. _Lucky._

For _Reno._

"Anyway, I'll get going," Reno said, then turned around to leave.

"You are lying," Sephiroth stated in a deep voice while feigning a bored look. It was a simple choice of words, surely easy to understand. Reno stopped, then cupped an ear with his hand while using the other to close the door behind him as he left.

"Hm? I couldn't quite catch that, Mr. General," Reno said, smirking when he shut the door.

No matter how well Reno concealed it, Sephiroth could tell he was lying. He was quite certain the kitchen deliverer was not nearly as 'sick' as Reno claimed. In fact, he would not be surprised if she had already delivered lunch to all the others today, with the exception of himself. Of some reason Reno had done it for her. Sephiroth did not care the least about _her_ choices, but he could not let _Reno_ think he had managed to fool him. Reno had visited the Shinra Soldiers a few times during the Wutai war, but every time he had tried to fool and trick him for his own satisfaction. To fool the General was apparently something very prestigious in his eyes. Sephiroth guessed Reno was already bragging to the others about having tricked him.

Sephiroth could not have that.

Time for a walk.

* * *

**R.R.  
**The Reno 'challenge club' will be accompanying us from now on...


	4. The Challenge

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters, but I own Rimm and the being "Nova".

Thank you for the great reviews! (on a scale from one to ten, I offer you 99, because that's how I feel about them)

* * *

The Challenge

* * *

"Okay, I delivered lunch to him for you. Now it's time for some action, yo!" Reno said, smirking nonchalantly with eyebrows arched in expectation of what was to come.  
"What's the challenge?" Rimm asked. If it was bad or difficult, she'd start delivering the lunch on her own again. Starting tomorrow.

"_You_..." Reno started, his smirk developing into a leer.  
"What?" Rimm urged.

"You'll take down every single poster of General Sephiroth in the entire building."

Rimm blanched. It was easy to take down one poster here and there, but to take down every single poster in every single room on every single of the seventy floors was _not_ something she could do in ten minutes. The number of posters was _not_ something she could simply wave away and smile at. The Shinra Headquarters were also crowded with secretaries who each would fry her alive if they saw her remove even one of their precious posters. The secretaries were not the only ones who were sure to get her into trouble if they got a chance to. At the upper floors it would be even more difficult; getting past the cameras and into the office of, say, Scarlet, for instance, was practically impossible. She would be captured, then tortured with objects she could not even possibly imagine the shape of, then she would be shipped off to a far-away place no one but Scarlet and her partner-in-crime robots would know of. Then Scarlet would send a resignation letter to Shinra- signing it with the name _Rimm, _of course - and no one would ever-

"But to make it a little easier, you don't need to take down the posters that are already ruined in one way or another. You know, like the one Rude has in his office, with arrows on it," Reno offered, then walked away while still smirking. Knowing him, he was already plotting a "punishment challenge" for when she came to him, crying, admitting utter defeat and confessing that she had miserably failed the challenge originally given to her.

"Arrows..?" she breathed.

* * *

Five hours and _lots_ of cheap arrows later, Rimm was at the sixtieth floor. Instead of tearing down all of the posters, she had spent her time running for her life while throwing her newly purchased arrows at each of the posters she came across, and that was out of reach. The arrows were, of course, only weapons that she used if there were people in her way - or big pieces of furniture and objects, such as desks. In other words, if she tore down a poster and some employees were in her way when she needed to get away, she would get in trouble. Therefore, the arrows were good to have to keep distance between herself, the poster in question, and the employees, while Rimm herself could stay close to the exits or stairs. She had ransacked all the floors up to the sixtieth floor so far, and there couldn't be many posters left. The few that she had bothered to _tear down_ were all disposed off; She had thrown them out of random open windows on the way, so as not to be revealed as the culprit.

But now she was out of arrows. No wonder. Half of them had missed their targets.

"Excuse me..." she tried as a secretary passed by. The woman stopped.

"What?" she demanded, pushing her glasses down a little to watch Rimm over their brim. She then lowered her hand, tilting her head only a little  
"Do you know if there are any posters of General Sephiroth on the upper floors?" Rimm asked honestly. She was dead tired.

"Why do you ask?" the secretary demanded, frowning and narrowing her eyes. With one arm around a suspiciously small pile of folders and the other resting on her hip, the woman squinted at her through glasses while waiting for her to reply.

"It seems the posters on the lower floors have all been vandalized. The ones on the upper floors might also be in danger," Rimm explained, feigning a serious look and clenching her fists.

Every time she saw a poster - every time she saw the man on it - she felt sick to her stomach.  
...Not because of _him,_ of course, but rather because of the improbable situation she was in.

"_What?_ Who would do that?" the woman exclaimed, a tad distraught.  
"Will you warn someone?" Rimm asked.

"No... There is only one poster on the upper floors, I think. It should be safe. That Scarlet... She has at least one poster of every important man having worked for Shinra," the secretary murmured, then hurried away, moving as fast as she could on her high heels. If she wasn't going to warn someone, perhaps the reason behind her hurrying was that she was heading to order new posters. That was how it looked to Rimm, anyway.

Scarlet. _Of course _the last poster had to be in _Scarlet's _office_._ It felt like fate was laughing maniacally at her.

Gritting her teeth, Rimm headed for the stairs. With her lunch-delivery key card it would be easy to get up, but sneaking past Scarlet was another matter. And waltzing up there with no such thing as a lunch box would be suspicious. If this was what she had to do every single time Reno delivered lunch to Sephiroth in her place, she would _not_ ask for Reno's assistance again. For now she just had to ready herself to pay the scarlet-clad woman a visit. She just hoped things would work out.

It couldn't be _that_ hard. _  
That's right. _She had to keep a positive attitude.

* * *

Sephiroth had not been fooled, of course, when the Turk said the lunch deliverer was sick. However, upon finding Reno in person, Sephiroth was slightly surprised when he realized the redhead was _not bragging_ to someone about having managed to fool him(which he had not, of course). Apparently, there was no need for him to admonish the Turk at all.

Despite not having bragged, however, the Turk was smirking quite smugly by himself.

Just as Sephiroth was about to walk closer to the man, who was sitting on a bar stool by a tall desk in the common room, another person sat down next to him. It was another Turk. Rude, if he were not mistaken. The two sat there, without speaking at first, as Reno seemed quite content with just thinking. This quietness was apparently making Rude uneasy - from this, Sephiroth drew the conclusion that Reno usually rambled about all sorts of random matters whenever Rude was nearby - and the bald man thus spoke up first.

"...Did she accept the job?" Rude finally asked, and Reno grinned lazily.  
"Yup. Now I'm just goin' to relax here until she finishes the posters for me," Reno said, visibly pleased with himself and not attempting to hide it.

...How lucky. Sephiroth had caught them in the act. As to what kind of 'work' Reno had made the woman do, he would not let it take any of his time. It was none of his concern. He still had paperwork, and his responsibility as a General was limited to the members of Soldier, not the Turks. Tseng would have to clean this up on his own.

Satisfied for the time being, he turned around and retreated to his office, swiftly passing by several employees on his way back. His long strides were much too fast for them to keep up with him, though, and he arrived at his office in one piece; clothes and possessions intact. With light annoyance he recalled the day he returned from Wutai. He had been surrounded on all sides by hordes of interviewers, admirers, fans and cameramen, and others who just wanted to know what was going on. It had been so crowded that he did not even have enough room to jump his way out out of there - the buildings, both the windows and the roofs, were filled with people. If he ever found a way to learn flying, he would put it to good use. Did such a technique even exist?

The door opened behind him.

Sephiroth, standing in the middle of the room, turned and watched as the head of the Weapons Development Department pattered inside. Scarlet, wearing her usual red attire, pulled a familiar person inside and crossed her arms at the same time as the door shut behind them. In one of her hands, she clutched a big sheet of paper.

"I caught her trying to steal this poster," Scarlet started, having no time for formalities. The poster was already crumpled, which seemed to be by the hands of Scarlet herself, judging from how she was holding it.

Sephiroth turned to the kitchen girl, who watched the wall with feigned interest, then glanced at the paper in Scarlet's grip. The eyes of the lunch deliverer were somewhat concealed behind her straight forelocks, but as if to make sure he could not see her(or perhaps stare her down, if that was how she perceived him), she pulled her beanie down as far as she could manage.

"Also, she vandalized all other posters of you in the entire building."

...The entire building?

At that, the younger woman made no attempt to hide her pained expression. Cringing, and gritting her teeth and hunching her shoulders, she turned away completely and faced the wall. She had vandalized his posters. Was that supposed to awaken some sort of reaction from him? For some seconds he contemplated whether or not to say something to ease the heavy atmosphere, but found nothing appropriate. He felt nothing. Those posters had never meant much to him from the beginning. _They_ were not _him_.

"I will leave you to it, then. Punish her as you see fit, General," Scarlet said in a confident voice, arching both eyebrows and keeping her eyes narrowed as she left again. The sound of the door closing was significantly louder this time. She did that deliberately, he was certain. The mood in the room changed from fiery and angry to cold and heavy - an alteration that he did not favor, and which was obviously caused by the only other person currently in the room.

The kitchen woman turned halfway and watched him with roaming eyes. She seemed to be unable to hold his gaze.  
When he realized, he averted his eyes to the door.

"I'm so sorry. It was a bet, and I promise it wasn't to insult you..." she said quietly, her way of speech childish and remorseful. He did not fail to pick up the faint trace of a pout.

She _sounded_ like Rimm, too.

"Your actions will not have consequences," he said, attempting to apply a vague, yet noticeable hint of nonchalance to his voice, so as to lessen the pressure and get things over with.

She looked straight at him, her odd, gray eyes wide. Instinctively, Sephiroth pulled his head back a little, emphasizing his height and authority. Her fearful expression didn't change. Why did she look so taken aback? He narrowed his eyes only a little, thinking back.

_Ah._ She had never heard him speak. Was that the reason she looked surprised?

"Oh... Why?" she asked, getting a hold of herself. Once again she struggled when looking into his eyes.  
"Because I am not fond of the aforementioned posters."

"...Why?" she repeated.

"Merely because they show me carrying the Masamune soaked in blood," he said with no apparent emotion, searching for her reaction. She said nothing, waiting for him to explain. How could he explain in a way that made her understand? Blood never was a pleasant thing. Not when he was aware he was at fault for the death of the persons being stabbed and sliced by the very sword he, and only _he,_ was able to wield. Actions such as killing should not be congratulated or celebrated highlighting it in such a manner. This was not a matter he desired to discuss.

He had never wished to be famous for having killed people.

"Ah, okay. Thanks. But... If you don't like the posters... What about all your fans?" she asked quietly, trying her best to look into his eyes, despite the fact that her beanie undoubtedly made it hard. Her fringes did a remarkable job of hiding her facial features. It was rather messy. Was that the doing of Scarlet?

"...They look up to me as if I were a hero because I am the General. If I were a perfectly normal person, I can hardly believe people would pay any heed to my existence, nor acknowledge me," he said, well aware that his voice sounded rather cold. This created an unmistakeable distance. Whether or not she understood did not matter. Even so, a strange sensation of relief touched him briefly, making him rethink what he said. It was nothing extraordinary, yet it felt delighting to speak it aloud. Meanwhile the lunch deliverer seemed to try thinking of something to say.

"I just work at the kitchen, so this probably won't mean an awful lot, but _I_ acknowledge you."

The words were spoken quietly, but in a matter-of-fact voice while hesitatingly pointing a finger somewhere between the ceiling and herself. He walked around his desk to stand behind it, by the window, then turned to watch her. After having a closer look, he was not truly certain if she looked like Rimm after all. The face of the Rimm he used to know was only vague in his mind. Still, he was certain that it was merely coincidence that this person reminded him of her.

"I mean, even if you were a normal person and not famous, you'd probably make a good friend," she said, nodding while frowning solemnly, as if to rid herself of nervousness. Some of her hesitance was disappearing. She was acting, but he could still tell she wasn't lying. The meaning of her words was... relieving.  
Comforting, but at the same time making him uncomfortable. She seemed to speak the truth. Yet, he found he did not like it.

_"Then, can __I be your friend?" Rimm asked, turning to him with an expression that looked almost comically lazy.  
_He still recalled Rimm's words.

"...And what was your reason for the poster vandalism?" he inquired, not missing her grimace when he did.  
"Sorry. I did it for Reno, by the way. I won't be doing this sort of thing again... If that helps..."

She was avoiding his question. Still, he could guess her reasons. The redhead had delivered lunch to him in her place, because she did not want to do so herself. Was he truly that intimidating? ...If that was the case, her words were contradictive. Did she not realize this?

"Can I... go?"

"Do as you wish."

The moment before she touched the handle, the door opened and revealed a secretary. The young lunch deliverer barely avoided getting hit by the door.

"General Sephiroth. The 2nd Class Soldiers are ready for the final stage of their training. Your participation is required at the main training grounds outside," she informed, looking tall next to the kitchen helper thanks to her high heeled shoes. The skirt did - which was usual for quite a few of the Shinra secretaries - reach down to her knees, which left her long, thin legs exposed. She had not bothered buttoning the uppermost buttons on her shirt either, revealing her tanned skin and a framed cleavage. It was impossible _not_ to see. In comparison, the kitchen assistant was pale and did not stand out too much. Her somewhat loose pants hid her legs, and he would not be surprised if her tank top was bought in a clothes shop for men. The secretary had the most noticeable curves, needless to say - but her excessive use of cosmetics was not of the most appealing kind.

To his wonder, the two women glanced at each other briefly, the secretary with skepticism, the lunch deliverer with curiosity that soon turned into suspicion. To assert herself, the secretary took a small breath and raised her head a little, until she looked down on the other. The kitchen assistant, whose name Sephiroth needed to learn unless he wanted to keep repeating her long job title so many times in his mind, straightened her back and clenched her fists. Even though it did not help her at all, she tilted her head back as if to look down at the secretary. Needless to say she failed miserably. The two of them were an odd sight, indeed.

In the corner of an eye he could see the piles of folders and papers that had yet to be read, signed and delivered.

"I shall be there shortly," he said, deciding it was time to put an end to the little game that played out in front of him. The secretary took the hint and smiled sweetly, then minced away.

"Okay, bye, sorry to disturb, and sorry for the posters, and sorry for taking your time, and for saying sorry so many times," the deliverer said while slowly walking out the door. Her hesitance was now practically gone. When she took hold of the door to close it behind her, he caught a glimpse of a very faint bruise on her arm. Probably Scarlet. Was it really necessary to go to such lengths?

"Your name," he queried, but his voice died while speaking the second word - the door was already shut.

It couldn't be helped.

* * *

"Oh, Reeeno..."

"_For the love of- Don't tell her I'm here, yo!_" Reno whispered to Rude from the least mature hiding place imaginable in Rude's dimly lit office: underneath his tidy wooden desk. Even so, if Rude were not mistaken, he would say Reno sounded like he was having fun.

While Rimm was busy with the posters, Reno had went ahead and told everyone he met that _Rimm_ was the one who had ruined all the posters. To pay him back, Rimm had rushed around, too, and told them all that _he_ was the one who had made her do it. That didn't matter to many of them - they only knew one thing; that _she_ was the one who was guilty in the actual ruining of the posters. In their eyes, Reno had not really _done_ anything. He had not been i physical contact with any of the posters. Or so he made them think.

Rimm appeared in the door of Rude's office, her silhouette dark against the light in the corridor, as Rude's office was not nearly as illuminated.

"I came up with a new challenge for you, _Reno_... How about pouring coffee down your neck, and watch as your stun baton does the rest?" she inquired, leering. Not seeing Reno, Rimm slowly left and continued her aimless search.

Rude, standing next to his wooden desk, looked down. Reno was either shaking with fear or trembling with mirth. It was tempting to tell Rimm his whereabouts, but he would rather not have coffee all over the room. That was probably why Reno came into his office in the first place. To see Rimm like this was not usual, but it had happened on a few occasions before. Such as when Reno made that one, particular joke about her stamina being worse than that of Heidegger. That day, the Shinra HQ had been full of an aura that could only be described as murderous.

But she had accomplished the poster mission, at least.

"Rude!" she exclaimed, suddenly in his door again. He turned to her fully to show that he was listening.  
"That poster thing was _not_ worth it! Scarlet could have gotten me _fired_. I landed up in the General's office in the end anyway! Reno knew that would happen, I know it!" she exclaimed, her cheeks flushed.

Then her eyes wandered to Rude's desk, under which a certain Turk was still hiding. Though his body was not visible to her, the soles of his shoes were exposed.  
Rimm's shoulders fell and she calmed down, her face turning oddly languid. Not long after, her mouth turned into a wide, gleeful, malicious smirk that did not fit her face at all - it made her look slightly... unstable.

"Reno. I can see you." With that blunt remark, she did suddenly not look troubled any more.  
Slowly, the redhead peeked out from behind his hiding place. He couldn't keep himself from smiling.

"Heh. Figured you'd find me in the end, yo. How 'bout you give _me_ a challenge? Then we'll be even," he offered. Whether he was being serious or not, Rude could not tell.

She said nothing.

Reno waited.

Rude looked slowly from Rimm to Reno.

Rimm continued being quiet.

Rude looked at the wall, watching the poster of the General. Arrows were all over it. Reno's doing.

Reno's smile faltered.

"Hey, say somethin', yo."  
"_Something._"  
"Ha, ha. Funny."

At the sound of someone clearing their voice, the three turned to the door. Rimm stepped aside to let the black-haired man inside. If she was annoyed at being interrupted, she didn't show it.

"Reno, Rude. You have a mission," the man informed in an voice that clearly expressed his authority. It was Tseng, whose ponytail and mark on his forehead were his trademarks. He obviously wanted an end to their bickering as soon as possible. Rude guessed he had a spare mission solely to solve problems such as these. Involving himself (Rude) in it, however, was not to his own favor. Regretfully he would have to live with it for now, knowing that he would manage somehow.

Aware Tseng would not let her hear the mission, Rimm silently left the room. No one stopped her.

Beginning tomorrow, Rimm would most likely deliver the lunch on her own. That would leave her with no more challenges that entailed embarrassment. Did she not say something about having met General Sephiroth? Surely that meeting should make her feel less uncomfortable around him. Unless the man had actually scolded her, something Rude doubted. He could not imagine the man getting upset over such a trivial matter as posters; that would only prove that he was superficial - which he was obviously not.

But for the time being, knowing Rimm, she would probably go home and get some rest to prepare for tomorrow.

* * *

**R.R.  
**Reviews will be transformed into marshmallows and sent in return with twice as much love:)  
Constructive criticism is encouraged, so please point out the mistakes - especially if there are mistakes or typos that I repeat over and over again...**  
**


	5. Pranks and Zack

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.  
Oh, and THANK YOU for the REVIEWS! The art of reviewing is... uh... an _art. _It takes a lot to give reviews as good as yours! (-swoons-)

FROM NOW ON, between each chapter, some **weeks** (but some times just **days**) will pass _between each chapter.  
_

* * *

Pranks and Zack

* * *

Rimm pulled the trolley behind her and fought to keep her eyes open. She would do anything to make this day go faster. Being a lunch deliverer, she knew her job didn't last long at all, but she was still dead tired. The corridor in front of her looked like an incredibly symmetrical, gray cave with no lights and a distant buzzing of people that sounded a bit too much like a lullaby. What she wanted most of all was to stop walking and just take a short nap on the floor. For the rest of the day she was going to have to fight a great battle to keep going. For the last week she had went home early and gone to bed, but she had barely slept at all. Even now, if she tried getting some shut-eye, she would fail. This case of insomnia was particularly annoying, as Rimm usually got at least a couple of hours of sleep. But now, she hadn't had a good night's sleep since before she found out Sephiroth was fifteen years older than the last time they met.

That was probably the reason she didn't jump out of the way when a door hit her face with enough force to give her a one-way ticket to the floor.

From the newly opened door, the one and only (lightly frowning) General appeared, mildly taken aback.

Rimm sighed without a sound and shut her eyes. She had wanted to have a nap on the floor, sure, and that door had slammed into her forehead just hard enough to almost fulfill that wish. But why the _door?_ Just the irony made her frown; The pain wasn't enough to rid her of her tiredness. This morning she had managed to forget her beanie, too. And with only her forehead to take the hit, it was no wonder things ended up like this. And Sephiroth, what had he been doing in there? That wasn't his office. Delivery of finished paperwork, or perhaps he was giving someone assignments? ...Not that it mattered. In any case whatsoever, his business was 12489376473 times more important than hers.

Upon hearing leather shift, she opened her eyes to see Sephiroth standing nearly right above her.

She had felt insignificant in his presence before, but it was nothing compared to _this._ His height and his partially clenched, gloved fists, combined with the way he looked down at her, made her feel like an ant. A mosquito. A dust particle. Anything smaller than a fly.

He even had that sword of his attached to his back. _Masamune._ (how was that even possible with no sheath? A magnet in his uniform?

Was this the right moment to faint?

"I apologize, it was not my intention to hit you," she heard him say, and sat up while supporting herself with her arms. She already missed the floor. It was amazing how floors managed to look so soft and comfy each time she was tired. This was not the first time she had longed for a short minute of sleep on the floor - but it _was_ the first time she had actually tried (though unintentionally) resting there.

"No, it was my fault. I should have seen it coming." That was right. She _should_ have seen it coming. After all, the door was big, huge, large, flat, visible, not too fast, and did not exactly have the widest attack range she had ever seen.

Sephiroth extended a leather-gloved hand and wordlessly offered to help her to her feet.

When she was about to accept by grabbing his hand, he extended his arm a little more, just enough for him to take hold around her wrist and pull her up. Once she was on her legs, he immediately let go. Temporarily disorganized and shaky, she touched her forehead to check if she was bleeding. She wasn't.

"Are you unhurt?" he inquired with no particular emotion. He did, however, watch her closely through narrowed eyes. As if he was trying to find out in his mind just _how_ she had managed to get hit.  
"I'm fine, just strongly tired. I mean... tired. And strongly... _disconnected_ with... to my- err, surroundings."

He watched her without saying a word.

"Sorry. I should get going before I fall asleep," she said, frowning as she grabbed the food trolley. It was about time for her to head to the glass lift and deliver food to the President, or he'd be angry. He had particularly ordered the kitchen to send him lunch early today, as he would be attending a meeting around the usual lunch time today.

"I will not be in my office for the rest of my day. Leaving lunch in my office would be of no use," Sephiroth informed, and Rimm looked him straight in the eye, but then immediately looked away.  
"Ah... Okay. Are you going on a mission, like the Turks?" she asked, thinking.  
"No. I am required to demonstrate and supervise the final preparation session at the Soldier training grounds before the Soldier exams, which are due tomorrow."

She was too tired to get what he said. That sentence was too long for her to comprehend. And it really shouldn't be that hard.

"...Okay. Good luck, Mr. General," she said in a lethargic voice, glancing at him for long enough to see that her way of speaking had earned her two slightly arched brows from Sephiroth. Then she left.

He had said something about Soldier and training grounds in that sentence. She missed the rest. Perhaps she could go to those training grounds and give him his lunch there. Then again, she _could_ hand it to him _now_. Yes, that was a good idea. Then she wouldn't have to go all the way to the training grounds. And after that she could go home - earlier than usual - to get some sleep.

"General?" she asked and turned around.

He was already gone.

* * *

"This is pretty good, don't ya think?" the black-haired 2nd Class Soldier asked, waving a sword around. It was large, but very light, which made him look faster than he really was. With one hand he swung it around, fighting an imaginary enemy.

The training session had just ended.

They were all currently at the training grounds outside the Shinra Headquarters. It was a large, flat area covered with pea gravel. The fences on two of the sides were tall and made of wire netting, with barbed wire on top to keep unwanted people away. The third side was fenced by a tall wall of cement. The Shinra Headquarters served as the fourth 'wall'. Only Shinra employees could get in. At the moment, Sephiroth could see silhouettes of people watching them from a few of the windows.

"Zack. Will you take the exam tomorrow?" Sephiroth asked, watching carefully as the younger man stabbed the air several times. The sword was good; it was sharp enough to easily split a rock if handled correctly. However, it would be bad if Zack were to put too much force into a blow. The sword was light because it was hollow. Masamune would be able to cut through the sword like it was butter. In other words, the sword was for attacking and not defending. Bullets would break it easily. Besides, if he were to lose the sword, even weaker enemies would be able to carry it and use it.

"Of course! Becoming a 1st Class Soldier is my goal, and I'll make it for sure."

Sephiroth turned to watch the rest of the group. Of all the thirty Soldiers, only a select few had enough potential to complete the exam without failing. Besides, while Zack acted normally around him, the others were stepping far too nervously. They did not relax. As a result, they made more mistakes. He could not fully utilize them on a mission if they continued like that. How could he make them calm?

"Check this out!" Zack said, grinning, then threw the sword with all his might.

It flew in a straight, horizontal line towards the tall cement wall on the opposite side of the training grounds. Sephiroth suddenly felt as though everything slowed down. It did not surprise him - it was just like when he was in Wutai, fighting daylong, sometimes all night against the trained samurais and skilled magicians, protecting his men by slaughtering those who posed a significant threat. Sephiroth watched the sword get closer to the wall, and he barely registered a yell of surprise from one of the other Soldiers in the background.

The sword was about to hit a person instead of the wall.

The woman, who seemed to be preoccupied with something she was holding, did not see it coming. The moment he recognized her, the slow movement returned to normal and passed fast enough for him to lose his calm for a split second - She was the one who looked like Rimm. Her eyes glanced in their direction, and her head jerked back simultaneously with the widening of her eyes. The sword whizzed past her, then it cut into the cement wall not too far away. Only the hilt of the sword was left visible.

For several full seconds everybody stood perfectly still. Those who had looked away peeked up, and the attention of the ones present were focused solely on the woman on the other side of the training ground. She was still standing with her neck arched backward. If they were closer, they would have seen that she was trembling and that her face was twitching. Sephiroth's trained eyes let him see that she was still clutching the item in her hand - a lunch box. What _that_ item was doing here, was obvious enough to throw him off track for yet another couple of seconds. He should have stopped the sword the moment Zack had thrown it. He was fully capable of it, yet he had simply watched.

"Haa..." he barely heard her say on the opposite side of the gravelly field, her voice shaky. Next to him, he heard Zack exhale exaggeratedly in relief. The black-haired Soldier was trembling more than she was.

Then her expression changed into one of boiling anger, and she jolted from her position and raced to the wall, where the sword was stuck. Once she was close enough, she placed the lunch box on the ground and grabbed the handle of the sword. Then she pulled it out, a feat that wasn't really that difficult - the sword was light, and the hole it had made was bigger than the sword itself, thanks to the pressure. A few of the other Soldiers, however, who had not paid proper attention to the description of the _lightweight_ sword, gasped in surprise when she easily freed it.

And, instead of swearing and cursing them (or more likely herself) halfway to President Shinra's list of people to be fired or people who resigned of their own will, _she_ threw the sword _back._

Of course she was not nearly as strong as Zack, and instead of flying in a straight line, its path formed an arch in mid-air, but the sword was still light - light enough to fly all the way back to where they were standing. By an extremely lucky, yet obvious coincidence, the sword landed in the ground right in front of Zack. It was quite literally planted in the ground, half of it hidden, with the hilt up. Yet again a select few of the Soldiers mistook the lucky shot for an experienced move and gaped at the angry woman who walked closer. One of her hands was clenched; The other held the lunch box.

Sephiroth watched in silence alongside the others as she approached. She was wearing her usual beanie now - or perhaps she had borrowed one - she had not worn one earlier that day. The training area was large, thus forcing her to speed up to get over to them at all. Once she got there, her cheeks were red and her breathing was shallow, but she hid it to the best of her ability.

"_You._" she said, pointing straight at Zack, who was the only person not holding a weapon.  
Whatever went on in her head right now, she was physically all right. And also more awake than earlier.  
"You..." she repeated.

Then, slowly, she let her head drop as she sighed. She had nothing to say. Or perhaps she had a _lot_ to say, only she couldn't decide what to start with.

"So sorry, I never meant to! You just showed up out of nowhere!" Zack defended himself, holding up his arms as if to shield himself, or perhaps to stop her if she decided to step closer. Both he and Sephiroth knew the sword event could be bad for Zack's exam.  
"I promise it won't happen again, and I won't use that sword, I'll use my own weapon from now on. Can you forgive me?" Zack asked, letting his smile grow slowly while watching her. She looked at him in faint wonder, as if not having expected him to do so. Sephiroth then spotted something beneath the brim of her beanie - something he quickly discerned as a bruise, despite seeing only a little of it.

"...If you decide not to pardon him, he might get fired," Sephiroth explained. At this comment, Zack's smile was accompanied by pouting eyes and slightly hunched shoulders.

"I-"  
"I'll do _anything!_" Zack interrupted her.  
During the short moment that followed, she narrowed her eyes as if thinking - still watching the black-haired Soldier.

"...You'll do me a favor?" she asked, sounding oddly careful.  
"Absolutely!" Zack replied with a wide grin and gave her the thumbs up with both hands, then added:  
"We've already finished the training session, so I'm good to go!"

This would either be tiresome, entertaining or truly painful, Sephiroth mused.

* * *

"So all I have to do is to glue these posters all over his wall without getting caught?" Zack asked, giving her a lopsided smile.

"Yeah. He made me remove the posters of Sephiroth, or somehow ruin them, and his end of the bargain failed in the end anyway. So now you'll just give them back nicely." she said. Of course they used weak glue, and the posters would come off the walls if someone tried pulling them off, but Reno wouldn't know that before he tried. And he wouldn't try - hopefully, he would just escape his office the moment he saw the state it was in. But in the end it was just a small prank that did no harm.

"Gotcha."

Thus, fifteen minutes later, Zack and Rimm waited patiently in the common rooms for Reno to show up.  
"So, you look a little familiar," Zack said, squinting at her while frowning suspiciously.

Of course she looked familiar. She knew who he was.

And she was glad he didn't recognize her.

Both of them were from Gongaga. It had struck her speechless earlier - when she saw his face. If Rimm guessed she had been kept by the scientists for, say, between ten and twenty years, Zack was without a doubt that little boy she had been babysitting when she was younger. Back when she still lived in Gongaga. Sure, she had only looked after him a few times, and only after being vehemently talked into doing so by her mother, but she could definitely recognize him. Zack looked like his father used to look. Rimm vaguely wondered if they were still alive and well - and her own parents, too, who she hadn't dared to contact. She was such a wimp. And she didn't even have enough money for the trip back home. Or so she told herself. The truth was, she would definitely manage to get home if she sold her furniture and most of her things, but then she wouldn't have anywhere in Midgar to return to. So, in the end, she _was _a wimp. Oh, how that hurt her pride(if she had any left).

"Heeey..."  
"Oh, sorry. I was thinking. Perhaps you've seen me deliver lunch before?"  
"...Yeah... That must be it." Then he too got lost in thought.

Rimm was sure of it - this _had_ to be the little boy she had looked after against her own will(due to her unnatural ability to make children in general cry because she always wore an expression of fear when she encountered them. They were so small, and so vulnerable, and she was overly afraid of hurting or breaking them - literally). But then she had left for Midgar with her dad to "see the world"... At least that was her excuse when the villagers had asked her about it. After a while in the kitchens of Shinra she had met Sephiroth, then she had gone ahead to ask the scientists to fix her eyes. After a number of years she had been released, and by then Zack had obviously grown. To think he was a member of Soldier...

...She... was starting to sound like... and elderly woman...  
Grimacing more than strictly necessary, Rimm tried shoving away the thoughts that were trying to leave weird tastes in her mouth.

The red-haired man arrived not too many minutes later with twitching brows and a quite strained grin, and his stun baton was clenched in his grip.

"Hey, _Rimm,_" he said, coming closer.  
"Hello..." she replied, not sure if he was angry, hurt, or if he was just acting.

"Seriously, yo, just freakin' _lookin'_ at those posters is makin' me sober."

He shook his head as if shaking off something disgusting, and then - unexpectedly - his currently fake smile developed into a real smirk, which slowly grew into a wry grin. He looked amused, as if suddenly remembering something of great importance. Rimm glanced at Zack, who still looked quite pleased, then returned her attention to Reno again. He slumped down on the sofa next to her and sighed.

"But hey, I heard you almost got hit by a sword an' all. Did ya have fun?"  
"...Not much."

"Really? Why? Is it because you almost got hit by the sword, or because your stamina almost made you collapse before you got halfway across the training grounds?" he asked, then looked at her again. This was becoming a fight of some sort.

"Because of the _sword._"  
"Then, you must have a hard head, yo. The sword only gave you a bruise on your forehead?" Rimm frowned at that.

Bruise? Hesitantly she touched her forehead right below her beanie, and winced as it hurt to touch. That door from the same morning had apparently left behind a visible mark. She just hoped no one had it on tape. After all, there were many witnesses to the small sword event. Did everyone see her bruise? ...No, the beanie hid most of it. But if they did _see_ it, how did they all think she had gotten it? Perhaps Sephiroth had seen it, too. He had to have seen it. It was impossible for a Soldier of his caliber _not _to see something so apparent on the very middle of her forehead - even with her beanie partially concealing it.

"It didn't hit me."

"What hit ya, then?"  
"...A... door..."

If possible, Reno's grin grew even wider. She was almost certain that he stopped breathing just then, as if to hide his obviously growing mirth. Rimm, on the other hand, turned gloomy and wanted to melt and escape into the closest drain, never to return again.

She was dead tired.  
She had been humiliated.  
She could have been at home, but had just _had _to play a trick on Reno. Which was currently failing and backfiring.  
She was being laughed at, even if the laughter was only inside Reno's head.

"You sound like you're havin' a bad day, yo. Let's do something about it. In return, you remove the damned posters from my office."

Zack, who had only been listening so far, perched his ears at what Reno suggested next.

* * *

The rest of the day passed faster than they would ever have imagined. Reno came up with enough ideas to cheer up not only himself, but all the onlookers who happened to pass by, and also those who didn't see _them, _but who wintessed the pranks they were pulling. Zack carried out what Reno came up with - be it stupid, macho or something else - and Rimm was literally being pulled along by one of the two men at all times.

Among other things, Reno made Zack go to the first floor, take off his shirt, and run up all the stairs until he arrived at the fiftieth floor to check how many fans he would manage to pick up on the way. Needless to say, half of the building was in uproar(be it fans or people trying to stop it all). A horde of people even followed the 2nd Class Soldier several floors before they gave in, exhausted. Zack was grinning all the way, which didn't exactly lessen the number of blitzing digital cameras in his proximity, and he didn't stop for a breath until he was at his final destination. Rimm and Reno were watching it all in the monitoring rooms, together with a couple of bored guards - whose boredom soon came to an end. Once Zack was at the fiftieth floor, he escaped into the closest empty office and met up with Reno and Rimm, who arrived there some minutes later - Rimm pulled along by Reno. But she didn't exactly resist, either.

After Zack was done, it was Reno's turn to lighten the mood. With some help from the trained Soldier, he made his way into the monitoring rooms again. The ones working there were given a highly professional, yet fake message by Zack, who had borrowed Reno's jacket and thus made the guards believe them and leave for some minutes. They did not recognize him as the macho person running from 1st to 50th floor with no shirt, oddly enough. Either way, while they were gone, Reno ransacked the CD shelves in the monitoring room with efficiency exceeding his normal self. He soon found what they were looking for.

"Heck, why don't they _use_ these?" he asked while putting the music CD on speaker. Just in case, he clicked the button that let _all_ the floors hear the song. Then he chose a random track and pressed the play button. A loud hip-hop track started playing, the bass making them tremble. After leaving a post-it note on a random monitoring screen, saying '_Sorry, this is not the guards' fault, so don't fire them!_', Zack pulled Reno out by the sleeve of his shirt and retreated to the common room in which Rimm was waiting. The sound of the song was loud enough to made their feet tickle in sync with the beat. Though she did absolutely not want to admit it, Rimm secretly wondered how the bigwigs were reacting - was the President dancing in his chair? Was General Sephiroth closing his eyes, imagining a particularly good pattern of trained attacks? Was Scarlet secretly nodding her head in sync with the music?

One thing was for sure: Some liked it. Other did absolutely, definitely not.

"Think someone will punish us?" Zack asked while glancing around. He grinned widely, though, indicating that he didn't think such a thing would happen at all. The track came to an end, and an soprano started performing a particularly glass-shattering opera.  
"What, like _general_ Sephiroth? It's about time his fans realize _he_ ain't the only big shot in here, yo."

While uttering said words, Reno straightened his back and feigned a look of complete serenity(which looked more like Rude than Sephiroth, really). Then, with the most solemn voice he could manage to mock the man in question, he stood up from the sofa and cleared his voice, then spoke, his words affected by the fact that he was already high on humor.

"I am the General, and I demand of those responsible for this noise to step forward, unless they wish to become the subject of highly depressive paperwork the next twelve months."

It was, of _course_, in that very moment Sephiroth himself decided to appear in the main entrance of the common room. Reno, however, failed to notice this, as the General was standing a fair distance _behind_ him. Wide-eyed, Zack looked at Reno, then glanced at his superior, then back at the Turk, who remained oblivious.

Reno raised an arm nonchalantly, pointing _past_ Zack and Rimm, at a brand new, big poster of Sephiroth on the wall. Then, with his own, usual voice and face, he spoke:  
"I am Sapphire-Ruth, and I am your alter ego, yo."

"I have such a thing as an alter-ego?" queried an unamused Sephiroth.

Then everything became eerily quiet.

Even the music stopped, which obviously meant certain guards had found the CD and stopped it. The mood sunk from _great_ to _colder-than-anyone-could-possibly-describe-with-only-one-word._ It was as if all the air in the room had sunk to the floor and was pooling around their feet. It was with a strained face Reno slowly turned around to face the General. Rimm and Zack held their breath. Whether it was of fear, or to hold back laughter caused by Reno's words, no one would know until they finally decided to breathe again. Personally, Rimm's fear was currently stronger than any mirth she might have been feeling some seconds before. At loss of words, the Turk simply looked at Sephiroth. The silver-haired man observed with expectations of an answer. Reno turned back to the two others in search of assistance, then to Sephiroth himself again. His mouth hung slightly open, as if he was waiting for the words to come out on their own. He looked almost _insulted_ by the interuption, though - or was it because Rimm and Zack didn't help him? If he was daunted, it didn't show.

The taller man eventually turned and left, obviously aware that Reno had gotten his point.

"...Holy... That sobered me up more than all the posters in my office did in total."

And despite this, they went on.

Their pranks did not stop there. They left Shinra HQ and bought as many balloons as they could with Reno's money, then returned to the headquarters. When as few as possible watched them, they shoved all the flying balloons into the two glass elevators that the higher-ups utilized. Then they waited until someone at the highest floors pressed the button for the lift to come to them. None of the three could actually see what happened when the balloons flew out of the lifts and into the faces of whoever was intending to use them, but they could _imagine_. A great deal later, the head of the Public Safety Maintenance Department, Palmer, arrived at the lower floor. His face was much redder than usual, and his deep frown combined with his big beard made him look like an angry dwarf. The balloons had obviously caused a racket.

And the culprits weren't caught.

Zack was the one who came up with something next. By then, Rimm was so tired she wanted to go home more than anything, but still stuck to the two men whose energy was close to that of superhumans. She admitted they did a good job in humoring people.

In addition to Rimm as a lunch deliverer, the Shinra higher-ups also had a breakfast deliverer, a few dinner-and-dessert deliverers, one supper deliverer, as well as one snacks deliverer who had to be ready at all times in case the higher-ups wanted something to chew on during the day. At the moment, the supper was being dealt. As Zack was the fastest of them he once again descended all the stairs at terrifying speed and went to the closest toy store. It wasn't the first time the cashier had seen him that day. Thus he was welcomed with a grin conveying that the cashier expected to earn quite a few Gil. Friendly questions were asked; questions about what Zack needed, but also a heap of suggestions. After buying a box with plastic insects(which thoroughly disappointed the cashier), Zack rushed back to the headquarters and raced up the stairs again. Even a Soldier such as himself would tire from such a feat. Reno offered to do the rest, and while the supper deliverer was in a random office delivering food, the Turk quickly placed one fake bug in each of the food boxes.

Rimm, pitying the dinner deliverers to the degree of wanting to beg Reno to stop(because there was a chance the deliverer could get fired), never got to see any reactions. It was simply too late for her to stick around. The last thing she heard before leaving the building, though, was Scarlet's shrill scream. Rimm couldn't resist slashing a half-hearted smirk at that; It looked like both _Kya-ha-ha_ and _Gya-ha-ha_ had been given a lesson for the day. Still... Hopefully the dinner deliverer wouldn't be fired.

* * *

**R.R.  
**'Kya-ha-ha' is Scarlet.  
'Gya-ha-ha' is Heidegger.  
'Sapphire-Ruth'... is either Reno's interpretation of the name 'Sephiroth', or (in Reno's opinion) Sephiroth's alter ego. Or... both...  
This chapter _seems _like a filler, but it is not... You'll figure it out later. :)


	6. A Bad Combination

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. This is _fan_-fiction. :)

Don't skip paragraphs. Think of how it took me to write them..! And... please enjoy.

* * *

A Bad Combination

* * *

Sephiroth's attention was pulled away from his paperwork when he heard somebody knock at the door.

"Enter."

The door opened and revealed a combat-ready Zack, whose expression betrayed complete and utter confidence; His grin was sparkling and his eyes gleaming. On his back - with the help of a hidden magnet - hung a broadsword. The large, heavy sword was a gift from the 1st Class Soldier who had helped him train, and Zack had proven himself worthy of it only through hard work and much effort. Even a uniform almost identical to that of his mentor adorned Zack - shoulder pads and black garments designed to make it easy to move: A ribbed tank shirt, a double belt, pads to protect his stomach, loose-fitting trousers and boots that were sure to never be ruined. Zack was - no, even Zack's _mentor_ was obviously expecting him to pass the exam and become a 1st Class Soldier.

"You ready, Sephiroth?" he asked, and Sephiroth tilted his head up as if to measure the man before him, then rose from his chair.

"...The examination will start in one hour, at noon. You are early."

"I know that. Just thought I'd save you from the paperwork an' all," the Soldier said, watching the piles of paperwork that were still not finished. More kept coming, as if all the higher-ups had suddenly realized - _all at the same time_ - that they could lessen their own work by simply shipping it off to his office. And being himself, he did not complain. He had his pride as a General. With the amount of paperwork he finished each day, it was quite impressive that he was still perfectly sane. By now, any normal person would already be drawing random numbers, doodles and children drawings on the floor and walls while drooling and wearing a dull expression that gave away their growing mental illness.

But Sephiroth was hardly normal.

"Very well."

* * *

To become 1st Class Soldiers, people did not only need speed, strength and the ability to use _at least_ basic magic spells with the help of Materia; To be smart and strategic was just as important. It was already afternoon, and Sephiroth had fended off most of the 2nd Class Soldiers with ease that gave a few of his opponents problems holding back cries of frustration and embarrassment. Sephiroth had to be honest with himself; He had saved Zack for last hoping the man would wash away the bad taste that a few of the others had left. Of course, this was not something he spoke aloud. About half of the Soldiers were all talk - or they were here simply for the thrill of it; To be able to call themselves 1st Class Soldiers and to brag about themselves. Zack, on the other hand, had been childishly stepping on the spot for the last half hour with sheer joy and anticipation, but other than that, he had kept quiet.

"...Zack Fair," Sephiroth summoned briskly after sending the previous man off the examination area.

They were outside of Midgar. Thus, people could do pretty much anything they wanted without harming anything else than dark, wet mud, rough ground and scattered rocks. So far, though, Sephiroth had been holding back. If he did not, deaths were bound to occur. He desired for no such thing to happen on his guard. Much less by his own hands.

"Man, I've been lookin' forward to this!" the black-haired man blurted, still grinning. Hopefully he wouldn't let his good mood distract him.  
"Did the lunch deliverer forgive you for almost hitting her yesterday?" Sephiroth questioned in a serious voice, intending to make him act more serious rather than gleeful and joyous. Soon, he would start the fight and hopefully not have to hold back.

"What? Rimm? Yeah, we and Reno sorted it out."

Who..?

...Rimm?

For a moment Sephiroth did not quite comprehend Zack's words, much less believe that was the true name of the lunch deliverer.  
But then, with her name as the trigger, it became much too obvious. Everything matched.

The face of the Rimm he remembered was vague, yes, but he knew the lunch deliverer resembled her. Rimm had disappeared after saying she wanted to fix her eyes. She had most likely gone to the scientists and asked them to help her. That explained why her eyes were now oddly gray. As for her age... Perhaps the scientists had done more to her than simply repairing her eyes. They had somehow stopped her from aging. As far as he knew, the studies on cryopreservation were not yet fully completed. Freezing dead humans to prevent them from decaying had been tried, indeed, but they had vanished in clouds of slowly evaporating pyreflies. Living humans had yet to experience anything of the like. Who would experiment to such a degree with a human life on the line?

Hojo?

The professor experimented with fiends, at times even cruelly so, but _humans?_ Sephiroth had received some injections and had been tested, as had the other 1st Class Soldiers, but nothing more. Would Hojo go that far? Come to think of it, Hojo had, as long as Sephiroth could remember, seemed as if he knew something that Sephiroth himself did not. At times he had smirked whenever he believed Sephiroth was not watching, giving him a vague suspicion that Hojo was committing something secretly. Whenever these things occured, Sephiroth had brushed them off as Hojo's satisfaction upon observing everything go and not fail. But was there a possibility even Sephiroth had been experimented on more than he himself had been aware of?

...How could he have been so utterly ignorant?

For years, _years,_ he had probably been less than a single floor away from Rimm numerous times without noticing at all. He had merely searched for her in person - he had never even considered searching for her _presence_, because such a thing had never come to his mind. He had questioned her trust, at times even believed she had betrayed their friendship by leaving. She could not possibly have given in to Hojo's experiments willingly. What exactly had made Hojo keep _her,_ of all people? She was not a rare, endangered specimen, and most certainly no fiend. Sephiroth should have noticed. And then, fifteen years later, she had appeared before him once more. The first time she had seen him clearly she had left in something akin to shock within only seconds. He had only shoved off her resemblance to his old friend as a coincidence. He had convinced himself that it was more credible that the 'lunch deliverer' was actually Rimm's _daughter_ than Rimm herself, but even _that_ had seemed off.

"Hey... Sephiroth?" Zack asked. Sephiroth's eyes were - if only slightly - wider than usual.  
How could Hojo have done such a thing? And how could Shinra have let it happen _without knowing_, and without giving him some sort of_ punishment?_

"If you don't mind, I'm coming!" Zack exclaimed as he started running.

This was not an ideal situation at all.  
Holding back strength in a fight while being angry was not a simple task. In such predicaments - regardless of _skills_ - one would find oneself significantly strengthened at the cost of certain degrees of control.

To combine this exam with the anger currently rushing so frighteningly freely in his veins - to the point where he could feel it surge with his blood - was _not_ favorable.

Zack, however, charged at him and was soon right in front of him. Sephiroth blocked his heavy sword with his Masamune without even having registered that he had seized it. Energy flowed through his left arm and into his sword, making their swords flash upon contact, thus temporarily blinding Zack. The black-haired Soldier gave a short laugh. As a response, Sephiroth shoved him away with an effort strong enough to throw Zack off his feet. Zack was sent rolling in the wet mud, not stopping before he was a fair distance away. Before he got up, Sephiroth raced in his direction, suddenly quite determined to get the exam over with quickly. He needed to go to Hojo to clear things up. With frightening force, he rammed his sword towards Zack, who was still on the ground, but the man deflected the hit with his broadsword.

"If you hold back..." Sephiroth warned, finding his own voice oddly unfamiliar as their two swords grinded against each other.

"I won't!" Zack reaffirmed, his muscles bulging and his arms shaking.

Less than a second later, the ground cracked into pieces from where Zack was. In places deep craters appeared, while other areas of the rocky ground rose quickly. Sephiroth jumped back, and the surfacing boulders left by Zack's Earthquake spell gave Zack the shelter he needed to safely avoid the counter attack of the General; a mighty Fire spell. What started as scorching heat grew into a fountain of flames - all coming from both of Sephiroth's hands. The fire ran along the ground like a river, melting all the rocks within his immediate vicinity. The parts of the ground that had previously been wet and muddy were now devoid of any liquid. Sephiroth himself was not even scratched. By now their audience, the other Soldiers, were already gawking, each of them uttering worried words to whoever were there to listen.

Ignoring them, the General lowered and jumped up into the air. Before landing, he used a combination of Materias to create a pulse of electricity around himself. Zack, who saw the sparks before Sephiroth sent the attack down, left his sword in the ground with the hilt up and took cover milliseconds before the lighting spell hit his weapon. Right now, unless Zack wanted to severely burn his hands by picking up his broad sword again, he only had Materia at his disposal.

Not wasting time after he landed, Sephiroth chased the running Zack to a pile of enormous, deformed boulders, all of which seemed to be covered in layers of dry mud and dust - a result of Sephiroth's earlier Fire spell. Together, the giant rocks were quite conveniently shaped as an enormous wall, which left his opponent cornered. Zack spun around and used a single spell four times in a row, an action that Sephiroth recognized as the ability of the rare Quadra Materia. The spell he used created a massive black hole shortly followed by wind rapidly growing in strength. It was pulling him closer, drawing in rocks and plants alike.

The four Gravity spells were strong, but nothing he could not handle; He remained still while thinking of what to do next, but was interrupted by a fleeing image of Hojo in his mind, which made him raise his Masamune and let it slash through the air. The strike was so powerful it cut through Zack's fourth and final spell - effectively splitting it in half - and into the small mountain of boulders behind him. Left behind was a thin, glowing line in the air where his sword had struck. Sephiroth slashed again, frowning. The consecutive cuts in the air were barely dodged by Zack, but the pile of stones behind the 2nd Class Soldier were starting to fall, one by one, creating a slide of rocks and rubble sliding down towards him, faster each time the boulders were cut.

"Tsch..." Zack uttered, using brute strength to block some of the larger obstacles that started coming down from behind him.

Then Sephiroth, too, was behind him, his jade eyes flashing in chilling contrast to his shadowed face.

Instead of stabbing him, which would undoubtedly be dangerous for him even when Sephiroth was only in slight turmoil, the General gave him kick to his stomach. Stepping back, Zack groaned and nearly fell, only managing to keep standing because Sephiroth kicked again - because Zack took this opportunity to grab hold of Sephiroth's foot. But then Sephiroth pulled him closer. Once close enough, the General used his free hand to take hold of Zack's wrist and remove it from his foot, his balance not disturbed in the slightest, then he used one knee to deliver a heavy impact to his chest.

"_Gah-_"

Zack, at loss of breath, backed away until he fell to the ground, then stumbled on his knees to where his sword was. It was still warm after Sephiroth's Thunder spell, but he was able to hold it. Then Sephiroth was in front of him and grabbed the front of his thick tank top and jerked him up so Zack's feet no longer touched the ground, then jumped into the air. Zack held onto his arm tightly with an arm to lessen the pressure at his neck, still holding the Buster Sword once given him by his old mentor in his other hand. He placed the sword against at Sephiroth's arm and pushed, aiming to cut him.

"Do not, under any circumstances, hold back," Sephiroth reminded. Such was one of the most important rules of 1st Class Soldiers. To speak the truth, Zack should not simply _cut_ his arm, but rather try to peel it in half or simply slice his whole arm off. That was what he would need to do with the fiends and enemies he would meet in the future.

"Make sure your cuts are clean." His stale voice expressed complete control. Were Zack to have a look behind this mask, however, he would realize _control _was not the only emotion currently at display.

Before Zack could use any of the newly achieved advices, Sephiroth hurled him down without holding back, doing so not only by thrusting him down with his arm, but also by kicking him in the stomach. At breakneck pace, Zack rocketed head first down towards the ground. Only a brief flash could be seen before the impact. Sephiroth frowned as he landed safely on his feet not too far away. Had he gone ahead and overdone it?

Then an earthquake rocked the ground once more, stronger than the previous by far, and cracks appeared practically everywhere. Boulders protruded from the gravelly ground, turned, then rolled off each other. Even the stones previously melted by Sephiroth's Fire spell were violently crushed again, sounding like broken bones struggling to move back in place. The noise and movement made it hard to locate Zack, and his vision was partially blocked by the thick layer of dust that seemed to be rising with the puffs of air released from every hole in the ground. Patiently, yet still angered by the information unintentionally granted to him before the battle had commenced, Sephiroth waited.

Just as the dust settled enough for him to see the audience properly in the distance, something locked around his ankle.

Upon looking down his, his eyes were met by a nearly blinding light, far stronger than the previous one. This time it was no earthquake, but a lightning attack. Judging by the energy and force, the spell was the strongest a Materia could have. Sephiroth shut his eyes. For only a few seconds, which for him seemed that much longer, he let the power of the spell ravage him as it pleased, some of it paralyzing his nerves and paining him, the rest of it being absorbed by him. He felt its warmth and welcomed the tickling sensation, all while standing still. It left no physical wounds. Zack should be aware that elemental spells could be easily blocked with certain Materias.

And apparently Zack _did_ know this.

At the same time as Sephiroth opened his eyes, Zack's Buster Sword hit him square on, and at the same time, Zack's Lighting spell used Zack's own weapon to reach its wielder. Sephiroth watched as the broad sword only went deeper into his torso. It was placed quite inconveniently between his ribs. Then Zack pulled his sword out, temporarily paralyzed by his own Electric spell. Sephiroth held back any exclamation he might have considered uttering and used a curative spell in the same instant as the Lightning spell wore off. The wound healed in a moment, but blood still stained his leather coat.

With the pain of the big sword fresh in mind - particularly the sound of it grinding against his ribs when Zack pulled it out - Sephiroth pointed out his Masamune and swung it. Doingso left white tracks in mid-air like earlier, which all made their way both horizontally and vertically, and in many other directions as the General kept lashing the air. With the attacks, his energy followed. Sephiroth watched as the airborne slashes traveled away from him. On their way they cut the ground, creating something akin to rays from where he was standing. Many of the cracks overlapped each other. By now there were more deep crevices than rocks. To speak lightly of it, this method of attacking could be described as papercutting. Only more serious by far.

Zack was hit. From the looks of it, he had not only been hit only once. In spite of this he remained standing, breathing heavily while giving a forced grin and frowning in pain at the same time.

One final time Sephiroth disappeared from in front of him only to reappear behind him. He placed his Masamune at Zack's neck before the bleeding man could raise his sword. The edge of Masamune was warm from all the fighting. Easily, without Sephiroth putting any weight on it, his thin sword cut through Zack's skin. And thus, Masamune had tasted the blood of this man as well. But that was as far as Spehiroth would let it go. He had killed many with his sword - and no matter how angered he was or would become in the future, he would not let Zack be killed by the touch of his Masamune.

After approximately ten long seconds of complete silence, with the sole exception of the damp wind, Sephiroth was disturbed by a flash.

...Camera? There was no way he would willingly let himself be captured by a horde of cameras and their owners. Nor would he let anyone immortalize Zack's defeat by Sephiroth's sword with tons of photographs. At least they hadn't disturbed the fight so far.

"...You pass."

Then he was gone.

* * *

"Man... I still can't believe we didn't get caught yesterday, yo. With those pranks and all."

Reno was reminiscing in his office, watching as Rimm looked through his things in silence. His office was remarkably messy, yet he had everything under complete control. He knew where everything was. For him, that was much better than having an overly tidy office with no order whatsoever. This was the way he liked it.

"I bet it's Sephiroth's fault. The man gets to much attention, so nothing's left for us," he continued, wrinkling his nose as Rimm picked up a particularly old banana peeling. It was not brown. It was gray, green and sweaty. Reno wrinkled his nose again as he continued;  
"Grossness. Hey, what're you doing here in the first place?" he asked, wanting to divert her attention from the banana peeling that had somehow evaded his 'mess control'.

"I'm here wondering where you keep your paperwork."

"I don't have any. I finish it all pretty fast compared to a certain silverhead," Reno said in a lazy way, smirking. He was quite pleased with himself when it came to paperwork - finishing it fast was a good habit he had. That way, no one would bug him about _unfinished_ paperwork, and no one could use _'unfinished paperwork'_ as a reason to get him sacked. Reno did his job well. This was the reason he was still a Turk. He could annoy the others as much as he wanted(almost), but as long as he did't slack, no one could fire him.

"_...Silverhead?_ Is that a word?" Rimm mused. Her short beanie did a bad job in hiding the two parallel band aids on her forehead, which in turn barely hid the dark bruise on her forehead. Somehow, it seemed to have spread a little. She had already tried pulling down the beanie many times, but it was a little too short and simply fell off if she overdid it. The other beanies of hers were in the washing machine, or so she said.

"'Course. It's just like redhead. I'm a redhead, he's a silverhead, you're a brown-head, Hojo is a wig-head, and Rude is a baldhead. Or just baldy."

That earned him a chuckle. Rimm looked around to find somewhere to sit, but found nowhere. Everything was covered in fastfood, boxes, pens, comics, unread books, old and malfunctioning lamps and extra sunglasses. His office, just like his body, was a temple in which junk food was constantly being worshipped. But Reno had it all under control and knew perfectly well where to search if he needed to find something. The banana peeling was an exception. An _old_ exception.

"I'll ask again... Why're you _here_ and not home sleeping if you're tired, yo?" he asked while moving his feet to rest on his desk. Some of the things on top fell down when he did, but he was oblivious.

"I have extra chores this week. Some of the others are out sick, so I have to help them make dinner. Luckily I don't have to deliver any. That's why I'm here. I'm just waiting. If I wait anywhere else, people will comment my _fancy band aids._" The three last words were spoken with obvious dislike. So she thought coming to _his _office would help? Was she too gullibe to understand that Reno was, in fact, the person who bugged her the most about things like that?

"...Okay. Then, why don't you make yourself useful in the meantime by cleanin' up my office?" he offered jokingly. He, too, had nothing to do. Perhaps he could try talking her into cleaning for him. Then he could watch over her and memorize the new location of each of the things she moved.

"Nope."

Reno smirked, eyeing an opportunity. Soon Rimm would realize (too late) that she could not resist his verbal persuasion. She, like many others, would become the victim of Reno's verbal skills; He was a good talker. She was not. To keep himself entertained, he _would _talk her into cleaning his office - with himself as an onlooker and supervisor. Afterwards he could brag about it to random people.

* * *

His annual check-up was Sephiroth's chance.

Well, _'annual'_ was slightly exaggerated. He had not ventured into the depths of the Shinra labs for years. The last time he was there was before the war in Wutai. Professor Hojo was not pleased about that. Sephiroth had never liked the man, but he would not let that be a problem. If Hojo dared cross certain lines, Sephiroth would see to it that he was put back in place immediately. That was not an empty warning. If he found that Hojo had experimented on any human (Rimm and himself in particular) the same way he experimented with fiends, Sephiroth would gladly explain that if he continued, Hojo would experience a lecture that was _physically_ painful.

As for now, he just had to slip into the lab library on his way out. _Unnoticed._ There he would try to find any file about a certain kitchen assistant fifteen years ago. If he found files or other information about her, that would mean she really _had_ been used in some kind of experiment. And _that_ would confirm that the lunch deliverer was indeed the same Rimm from back then.

The tests did not take long.

"...Good. " Hojo said. The weary sound of his voice betrayed the meaning of the lone word. Sephiroth glanced at the table, whereon a paper with results rested. Faster than any other human would ever manage, the General skimmed the file. He knew the score 5/10 was _average_, and 10/10 was the highest attainable score, so he was pleased when he observed the data.

_Name: Sephiroth (no.1)_

_Physical Attack: 10/10  
Physical Defense: 9/10  
Magic: 10/10  
Magic Defense: 10/10_

_Speed/Reaction: 10/10  
Status Ailments Resistance: 9/10  
Stamina: 10/10 __  
Recovery Rate: 10/10  
Intelligence: est. IQ is above 210_

Sephiroth suppressed back a smirk and continued reading.

_Preferred weapon: Masamune.  
Position: General, 1st Class Soldier.  
_

_Father: ---  
Mother: Jenova(C.)_

Suspicious, Sephiroth stopped reading. He had grown up believing his mother was Jenova, and he was certain she was, but what was the single "C" doing there? Was that Jenova's surname? Or an alternative name? ...Could it be an experiment title? Temporarily brushing it off as an abbreviation of his mother's working title, he looked back up at Hojo. The fact that the name of his father remained unknown did not surprise him. He had never known who his father was.

"...Work on your resistance against status ailments, and on your physical defence," Hojo ordered. Sephiroth remained unreadable. A part of him wished for nothing more than to disobey, but a blunt refusal would only be a waste of time.

"I shall," he assured, and the sound of his voice seemed hollow in the large room. The metal on the walls did not throw any echo back at him, though, as Hojo's inventions, experiments and gadgets were in the way. Fiends in small tubes were there, too. Everything looked like it was randomly placed somewhere. If it was not, a certain professor had a tremendously bad sense of organization.

Without any further ado Sephiroth turned and left, his strides swift and soundless.

The moment he was out of sight, he sidestepped and increased his speed(avoiding the cameras), then opened an old-looking metal door without hesitation. He shut it quietly once inside. As Sephiroth suspected, the door had been unlocked. He guessed that had something to do with Hojo being present. If the professor hadn't been there, the room would surely have been locked. After all, no one would ever dare to go inside when Hojo was nearby. Sephiroth was an exception. Scanning the shelves with trained eyes, he searched for a category that might be holding a report with information about Rimm. On the planet Gaia, different cities and groups of people used different time and era schedules. For instance, if people in Wutai were in 'year 200', Midgar could call the same year 'year 700'. People had no common or reciprocative overview of time. Instead, Shinra used the names of the past Presidents. All reports and files with information were placed in chronological order.

But it would be difficult for him to search for a particular date.

Sephiroth chose the section with the name of the President fifteen years ago and started searching. There were tons of files. Not wanting to waste time, he searched for files about himself and tried remembering just when Rimm had disappeared. First he found a file about himself as a five year old. Finding it useless, he continued. Seven years old... Test results... Not yet... _Eight._ Well, he was eight when he met her, and he did not know which month he was born in, nor day for that matter. Rimm had disappeared right after the New Year celebration, when Hojo considered him to be _nine_ years of age.

Patiently, yet fast, he leafed through the reports next to the ones about himself. The files and papers with information about _him_ were, for some reason, a lot more worn than the others. Also, there were many of them. Why couldn't Hojo simply arrange all the files and documents by names? Was it because a lot of the fiends and experiments were not named? Hojo had called him 'number One' several times, and said it was because he was far more skilled than the others. An exceptional being. Sephiroth preferred 'human'. _'Being'_ sounded a tad too alien to him.

There. He found it. It was only one paper - and different from his own on more than one level.

_Name: Rimm(not numbered)_

_Physical Attack: 6/10  
Physical Defense: 5/10  
Magic: 1/10  
Magic Defense: 1/10  
_

Her magic was that bad? Sephiroth scowled, partially amused, but also slightly disappointed.

_Speed/Reaction: 5/10  
Status Ailments Resistance: 8/10  
Stamina: 1/10  
Recovery Rate: 8/10_

_Intelligence: Not measured._

Horrible stamina, but impressive recovery. That was simply odd. He guessed the latter had something to do with her old habit of running for her life. A vague memory of her being caught in the act when she stole a bag of marshmallows came to mind. He had never seen her run faster, nor laugh harder. A chill ran down his spine, making his hairs stand on end as he recalled that loud, clear sound of her laughter that particular time. It had truly been a sight to behold. Her laughter had sounded thrilled and terrified (because she was being followed) at the same time - her facial expression had looked the same. The memory was eerily clear.

_Preferred weapon: ---  
Position: Kitchen Assistant.  
Experiment Status: In Progress. _

This report was old, yet it confirmed his suspicions about her being experimented on. Rimm was no longer a kitchen assistant(as the report stated). She was a lunch deliverer. If she took the test again, would she do better or worse? Sephiroth's eyes darkened as he read the last line once more. _In Progress._ Since the report was old there was a chance the scientists had already finished the experiments long ago, without having bothered to update the report Sephiroth was currently holding. Then again there was a chance they were not finished with her yet.

And then there was himself. The files about him (at least the ones he had skimmed through) only contained _test results_. They said nothing about extensive experiments.

* * *

**R.R.  
**I'll let Hojo catch him in there if you don't review. Har-har. I are evils.


	7. In the Sun

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. This is _fan_-fiction...

Earlier I said some weeks would pass between each chapter. I should clarify this: It does _not _mean I will update every other week or every other day(I am still going to update one chapter each day, or at least try to). It means that _normally,_ some weeks or days pass in between one chapter and the next - _in the story_. (So, since it was spring in the beginning of this story, it is now early summer)

* * *

In the Sun

* * *

Yesterday, Sephiroth had left the old science library without being noticed. But the General was still not content. There had to be information somewhere else - some report that said what, exactly, they had done to stop Rimm from aging for such a long period of time, as well as why. Also, he wanted to know all who were responsible, and when exactly they were going to _complete_ the experiments. Judging from the _'In Progress'_ on the bottom of the lone paper, they were not done with her. Still, if the report was _old,_ then perhaps they _were_ done, and he would have nothing to worry about. It was complicated, and even it was though perfectly understandable to him, it would take time and patience to solve.

For now he would just let go of some steam.

It was almost eight o'clock in the morning, the day after Zack's exam. Zack had already showered him with hundreds of questions as to why he had simply left the scene. Apparently Zack _liked_ being in the spotlight. Sephiroth could not blame him. At the moment, however, the man was not grinning quite as much.

"This is killing me..." Zack muttered, supporting himself with hands on his knees while smirking in a defeated manner.

The sun really _was_ a bother. Out of nowhere, its rays had fought their way through the heavy layers of smoke and black clouds that normally veiled Midgar. For such a thing to happen was rare, indeed, but not unheard of. It happened because the Mako reactors were temporarily turned off to get checked. Sephiroth preferred to think that was to ensure the safety of the people in case of Mako reactor explosions, but guessed it was more about _money_ than anything else for the President. Perhaps the man had ordered someone to improve the reactors so they would generate more power. Either way, he had never harboured a liking of any kind towards the greedy man.

"I'm hungry and thirsty and sweaty..." Zack continued. Even though it was only late spring, or - should he venture to say - early summer, it was certainly warm.  
"Thank you for enlightening me." The black-haired man gave an apologetic chuckle.

"But it's so warm."

"_Too_ warm?"

"No, just _warm._"

Which was why the two of them trained shirtless. They did not utilize any of the training grounds close enough to the Shinra building for the employees to watch them, nor did they use the training rooms inside the headquarters. Instead, they were working out on the roofs of old buildings left behind and forgotten by whoever were their previous owners. Sephiroth had been tempted more than once to simply slice some of said buildings in half to confirm that his (and Masamune's) strength had not decreased after he left Wutai. However, such a deed would be dangerous for the people in the slums below. He could catch glimpses of them - not on the elevated streets on which the more expensive buildings were built, but far below, underneath the numerous bridges, stairs and the gigantic beams holding up the middle-class section of Midgar.

Both he and Zack left had left their swords behind on the roof in favor of lifting, moving, breaking and bending old metal beams and girders, so as to measure their strength. They had even attempted to use the smaller ones as weapons against each other. After they were done, the objects looked more like pieces of art than anything that would ever hold together a building. These loose pieces of metal eventually got in their way, though, forcing them to move to other buildings and continue working out there.

While Sephiroth easily ran up the walls until he got to the roof, Zack did not manage to get longer than halfway. After cursing mildly at himself, he eventually chose to jump from window sill to window sill. Once he was up, both of them took hold of their swords again and started dueling. None used their full strength, choosing to focus more on movement and endurance.

Sephiroth jumped from building to building, easily gaining leverage by utilizing walls, roofs, and even window sills. Zack used mostly roofs, and landed some hits with the back of his sword. Sephiroth blocked using his Masamune and used his free fist, feet and knees to block and knock Zack out of his way every time the younger man got close enough. This was mostly training for Zack, but also for Sephiroth himself. In fact, for_ him_, it was much easier to _kill_ than it was only to _injure_. If Sephiroth needed to kill, he would use his sword. If he had to catch the enemy _alive_, it was more difficult for him to determine how much strength he should use, and where and how he should hit.

"Man... I'm like a walking waterfall," Zack said jokingly, flashing a wry grin when they stopped. Beads of sweat covered his skin, glistening in the sun as it ran down his forehead and his back. Even his hair refused to stand in its usual direction. It was no wonder - they had been training for a fair while.

They were pretty close to Shinra's Headquarters. This seemed to trigger an idea in Zack's head.

"I challenge you," he then stated, earning narrowed eyes from the General.  
"...Challenge?"

"How 'bout we try and get all the way to the gym rooms inside without anyone seeing us? That'd be good stealth training."

Before Sephiroth replied, Zack jumped off the building and down to the ground - not using the window sills this time - and ran in the direction of the outdoor training shack, as he so fittingly dubbed the building by the training area. After only seconds inside, he emerged with his own tank shirt and gear, as well as Sephiroth's coat.

Then he darted towards the Headquarters of Shinra.

"...Wait!" Sephiroth ordered, alert. What was Zack doing? That coat was _his_, and was not an object people should simply take with him. Zack paid no heed and ascended the emergency stairs on the side of the tall building. Sephiroth followed, his moves swift and soundless. Why had Zack insisted on going to the training rooms of all places? There were lots of people in there. Sephiroth had only one intention at the moment - to go home and have a shower. Before that, though, he preferred to retrieve his coat. Never in a million years would he shower in the dirty Shinra training rooms. The showers in there were so old they were rusty. Even the _water _smelled of rust. Everything in those shower rooms had been rusty as long as he could remember. That said something. Zack was a fool to think he could outrun him like this.

The black-haired man obviously put in a lot of effort to run faster than him, because once Sephiroth caught up to him, they were already at the emergency exit on one of the highest floors. Zack hurried inside and ran through the hall without any stealth whatsoever. Had he not said the challenge was to get to the gym without being seen? Perhaps trying to get there without getting _caught_ was what he had meant to say. Frowning, Sephiroth followed the man while avoiding any others on the way. Every time he almost caught up with Zack again, somebody showed up and made him take a detour not to be seen. He just hoped the guards in the monitoring rooms were not watching the cameras. If they were, they would surely tell someone. Even record him and make money of it. It was not an everyday thing for the General in person to roam the halls shirtless.

Once they were at the right floor, which seemed oddly empty, Zack came to a stop, panting heavily. Still holding Sephiroth's coat and his own gear, he supported himself on a wall while grinning widely when Sephiroth walked closer.

Right before any of them were given a chance to scold or defend themselves, however, a certain lunch deliverer walked around a corner with a nearly full trolley.  
She stopped and took half a step back the instant she spotted them.

"_Whoa!_" she exclaimed, to the great amusement of Zack, who laughed loudly between breaths. She held her arms up as if to shield herself from the view, turning away a little.  
Sephiroth only watched. He could not see how he had not realized her identity before. Had he really put up that much of an effort into denying it was her?

"What's wrong?" Zack questioned her. For a moment she said nothing, as if thinking of something smart to say, then she peeked at them through her fingers. For once, she did not wear a hat. It left the band-aids on her forehead visible.

"I'm having a mental nosebleed due to overexposure of muscles..?" she offered, joking with some difficulties.

"...Huh? You... hit your nose or something?" Zack asked, a tad clueless. She shook her head and took hold of the handle of the trolley. Then she walked closer and passed them. The fact that she was on this floor meant she had delivered food to someone on the gym. And _that_ meant there were people there after all, despite the fact that the floor was otherwise quite empty. Where should Sephiroth and Zack go next?

"...In Midgar, a nosebleed is automatically assumed to be caused by either strong allergy or a hit to one's nose. In Wutai, however... it is said that nosebleed is mainly caused by two things."  
"Yeah? _...Yeah?_ What are those two?" Zack asked eagerly, and Rimm stopped dead in her tracks. Apparently, she had assumed none of them would know what the joke meant. Sephiroth, watching her intently with no particular expression, spoke again. His voice was level, betraying nothing.

"One, eating chocolate." Rimm turned her head slowly and looked at them over a shoulder while listening carefully, not trying to hide that her brow was twitching.

"Two... thinking inappropriate thoughts."

Once Zack understood, he laughed loud enough for everyone on the floor to hear him. Sephiroth feared people would start showing up soon. Rimm had a faint red hue on her cheeks, and turned away before speaking.

"Ah, I really didn't think bad thoughts, I... was joking. Obviously I have bad humor. Besides, you two look - according to fans in general -_ too good_ for_ me_ to be allowed to watch you. Your fans will strangle me for sure. So I'll be leaving now," she said in a mumble. Zack kept grinning.

"Really..?"  
"Yeah. Anyway, have you put your clothes on now?"

"Sure thing, it's safe to look now," Zack lied, earning a glance from Sephiroth.

Hearing his answer, she turned around.

They were still shirtless. The only thing Sephiroth and Zack saw before she turned away again was her remarkably deep frown. Her cheeks were not red, though. Clenching her fists, she cleared her voice demonstratively. The General did not know quite what to think of this.

"What was _that_ supposed to mean? And you say _I'm _the one thinking inappropriate thoughts, Zack? ...And why are you even shirtless in the first place?!" she asked rapidly.

"...Zack abducted my coat."  
"You accepted my challenge!"  
"I did not. You merely assumed I did."

Their talk was interrupted as people were heard approaching from the main corridor of the hall. Had the monitoring guards seen them and alerted the others about them after all? Zack and Sephiroth exchanged glances - Zack excited and Sephiroth not entirely pleased. They _could _simply get their clothes on, but that would mean getting them all sweaty, and in time they would start smelling. Such a thing was out of the question. They had, after all, not only discarded their garments before training because it was warm, but also because none of them wshed to go through the trouble of sending their clothes to get cleaned. To add to this reasoning, Sephiroth had just had his coat cleaned already, and all he currently desired was to return to his apartment and have a shower. Considering people were approaching from the only exit, they had nowhere to go.

So, where to?

"...The spas behind the gym room are empty," Rimm mumbled, barely audible, still not watching them.

This was a suggestion they accepted without a word, as they did not want to be heard.

* * *

After plenty of stress, Sephiroth eventually managed to take a short shower at his apartment before returning to his office in the Shinra building. It was a miracle that not more time had passed, considering it had taken so long for him to actually leave Shinra HQ in the first place. Still, his lunch was not yet delivered. When Rimm got to his office should he say anything? Perhaps she still believed he was not aware who she was. There was a chance it angered her that he had not noticed - or, should he say, _admitted_ - before now.

There was also a chance she knew who had used her for an experiment, and what they had done to her.

"Enter," he said automatically, simply knowing someone was outside. The door was thick, however. It wouldn't surprise him if the sound of his voice did not always carry through it if he spoke in a quiet voice.

The door opened either way, revealing Rimm.

"Hello again, General."

No _'Mr. General'_ today. Perhaps because of the small incident earlier.

"Good morning..." he started, watching with feigned interest when she placed his lunch box on the desk and turned to leave. She still wore the two band aids on her forehead. Had the door really hit her that hard?  
"...Rimm."

The completion of his sentence resulted in immediate reaction. She stopped and turned around halfway, searching his eyes with wide, gray orbs while wearing a slightly distressed frown. In return, he simply watched her from his position in the office chair of his. He wore no expression. Then she looked away slowly and nodded while raising her eyebrows, as if pondering something. When she looked back she smiled carefully, testing if it was the right thing to do. He figured he should at least give her a friendly tilt of his mouth in return, but found he could not. It was simply not something he did too often; it just seemed wrong for one such as himself to do so. To describe it quite precisely, he did not _allow_ himself to. He was - to put it bluntly - a killer. More than once had he killed innocent people, believing they were enemies, and especially so in the war.

So why should he smile?

"Sephiroth. Or... as Reno said..." she started, perhaps thinking to joke again, but did not continue. Regret was obvious in her eyes when she stopped herself from grimacing.  
"...'Sapphire-Ruth'," he finished for her, more serious than strictly necessary.

An awkward silence ensued. She averted her eyes.

"...How are you still this young?" he questioned. Postponing the subject would not do them any good. She looked up at him, a concerned frown once again on her face. Nonetheless she replied.  
"Uh... The scientists, I think. I don't know how. I didn't even realize... that so much time had passed - not before I saw you and all," Rimm explained, smiling awkwardly as she shifted. She was evidently ill at ease.  
"I see... I was not aware they were capable of committing any crimes of that caliber - not when they are being so closely watched." There was a chance President Shinra was in on it as well, then. How many knew of this?

And then came a matter that was impossible to avoid - one of personal importance to her, undoubtedly; Did she have parents who were still alive, and if so, had she seen them yet?

"I thought you didn't know who I was..." The fact that he had failed to notice before did, indeed, to some extent embarrass him. In addition, her statement also caused a certain degree of self-consciousness to surface within him. Rimm's predicament and his late realization were not matters that should be repeated. They would both learn from this.

"I just found out. I apologize for my late realization," he said, looking at his final pile of paperwork. After he finished it, he would spend more time doing field missions. As he used to do before the war.

"No problem." Her voice was quiet.

* * *

Hojo _knew_ Sephiroth had visited that small library at the lab floor. It was only a matter of time before the General would try searching the Research Library on the 62nd floor as well. As for the lab library the General had already visited, on the science and lab floors, from 67th to 69th floor... They were supposed to be impregnable. No one had ever managed to get in and escape safely afterward. Sephiroth was an exception.

But only because Hojo had arranged it that way.

The only reason he had let Sephiroth go was his own curiosity. None of the files about Sephiroth - the Jenova Project - said anything about Jenova being an Ancient, or an extraterrestrial being for that matter, so it didn't matter if Sephiroth read them. But Sephiroth had taken his time to read one file that was _not_ about himself. It was his Nova project, that only Hojo himself knew of. There was no way Sephiroth could be aware of the experiments done with that woman. Yet, he had gone out of his way to have a closer look at that particular file. Hojo knew that the woman had been involved with Sephiroth when he was much younger. Sephiroth had most likely not seen her for fifteen years. Why search out a childhood friend now? Simply to confirm it was truly her? Surely, Sephiroth was intelligent enough to start questioning the doings of the scientists. It might become more difficult from now on, indeed.

...Yet, this could be used to his own gain. Arrangements could be made to fit his wishes quite precisely. To the slightest of details.

* * *

"My turn! _Guess who am I now,_" Reno ordered his audience in the cafeteria. He was sporting a wig - an afro (though, where this came from, no one knew) - and wore a superior expression betraying complete control. Without speaking, he pointed at his fake afro. His mimicking did not ring any bells in their minds, which made him smirk - perhaps at their uselessness.

"Someone with an afro. I dunno about any celebrities with an afro, though," Zack said while poking his chin in thought. He was occupying a chair, facing Reno. No one were eating at the moment, and those who were present were either finished for the day or were just slacking.

Reno shaped a heart with his hands, which resulted in some stifled laughter among the onlookers.  
The game participants, however, were far more serious. No one wanted to lose.

"What? Heart? ..._Love!_ The heart means _love!_" Zack exclaimed, pointing at Reno, who nodded before starting to let his hands shape big curves in the air, from his shoulders to his feet.  
"A woman. Okay, a lovable woman with an afro?" he guessed impatiently, ready to stand up.

Doing nothing to confirm Zack's guess, Reno drew a circle above his head.

"A halo? Yeah? Then, you're mimicking an angel? Goddess? ...Man, I don't like that kinda stuff. I'm not good at it. Is it Cupid?"  
"Cupid is a boy, isn't he?" someone among the onlookers said.

"Perhaps he means _Aphrodite._" a blonde man suggested. It was one of the newer Shinra guards, whose hair was impressively spiky.  
"What the heck? _Afro__dite_?" Zack sounded disgusted. Whether he disliked Aphrodite or hated losing was left unknown.

"_Correct!_ Okay, now it's your turn, yo. Pull a card," Reno said and threw off the afro. Leisurely pulling out a chair, he sent a competitive glance in Zack's direction. The black-haired man did the same, though with more humor and a wider grin than the redhead.

Hesitantly, the blonde pulled a piece of paper from the small bowl on the table. After reading it he frowned in distaste and looked up slowly.

"...I can't do this."

"I KNOW! It's SEPHIROTH!" Zack shouted, surprising them all.  
"No, it's definitely Scarlet. See, Cloud would never dare to mimic _her,_" Reno countered.

"Are you kidding? Scarlet is a hundred times easier to mimic than Sephiroth!"  
"No, she's not," Reno countered.  
"Oh yeah? Watch me!"

Zack flashed a wry grin and stood up, then pushed his chest out and let his arms draw huge curves along his body.  
"_Kya-ha-ha-ha!_" he laughed, his voice high pitched. His reward was a massive wave of laughter from the others, and a very annoyed huff from the redhead.

"But-" Cloud started.

"Very funny! But Sephiroth is even easier, so _he_ can't be the one Cloud is going to mimic, yo! So just admit you're wrong, and just watch me prove it," Reno said confidently and rose to his feet. After shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath(looking a tad displeased and unwilling), he calmed down enough to keep his face serious and smirk-less.

With no hesitation whatsoever, he loosened his ponytail and let his red hair flow freely, then he removed the goggles usually holding his red locks in place. His stoic pose did not change when he started walking with long, eloquent and swift strides through the room. His goal, as the others would soon come to realize, was a long coat left on a chair. After quickly putting on the left-behind item Reno slowly turned around - his head tilted back so as to look down on them all - and then gave the audience the coldest glare he could possibly manage with narrowed eyes. As if on cue a warm gust danced through the room from the open windows and swirled around him. The usual and smirking Reno, whose nonchalant behavior always had a trace of humor and even lazy arrogance at times, was nowhere to be seen in this new person. He was dead serious, and the only thing that gave him away was his vividly colored hair. It was an uncomfortable sight. Not only could they all tell who he resembled; He also seemed oddly out of character.

Then he simply couldn't resist a certain phrase he recalled from not so long ago. In contrast to his looks, his voice still held apparent traces of his benign cockiness.  
"I am... Sapphire-Ruth," he spoke, unable to prevent a smirk.

After three short seconds - during which several pairs of confused eyes blinked and the rest of the people exchanged glances - roaring laughter could be heard from the cafeteria in question. Some were left teary-eyed, while others were unsure as to whether or not they should be laughing at all.

"Pfft-" Zack started, but held back his mirth.  
"Don't try to hide it, I heard you," Reno informed as he disposed of the coat. Cocking his head, he put his goggles back on.

"I didn't laugh," Zack countered said in a serious voice, swallowing several times not to release his laughter.

"Keh. Anyway, Cloud, who of us were right?" Reno asked, catching the others' attention. The blonde still held the note i his hand.  
"I haven't mimicked anyone yet, but I was supposed to mimic professor Hojo," the blonde said, looking at them for reactions.

"...Hojo, huh?" Reno asked thoughtfully. He was busy gathering his hair in a ponytail again. Zack smirked.  
"Aww, come on! Just borrow some glasses and a white coat, and walk around with a hunched back and a deep frown. _Everyone_ would've been able to tell who you were mimicking," the black-haired 1st Class Soldier said while letting his smirk grow into a lazy grin.

Sighing, he sat down in a chair and crossed his arms. Cloud picked a new piece of paper and studied it for a while.

"Say... _Gya-ha-ha..?_" he tried.

"HEIDEGGER!"  
"_Heidegger!_"

Both Zack and Reno shouted the name at the same time. Pumped up, they stared at each other with competitive expressions, Zack clenching his teeth in his usual grin, and Reno leering. At one point the two of them had silently agreed that they were rivals. They were not enemies, though - they only did this for the heck of it.

"I'll try another one," Cloud said hurriedly, guessing their fiery behavior would be taken to the next level if he didn't. After choosing a random note from the bowl again, he looked up at them expectantly.

"Ho, ho, ho..."

"...Huh? Who laughs like that?" Reno asked.  
"President Shinra?" Zack chanced. Cloud did not approve.

"Santa Claus!" another, female voice called with a hint of admiration. They turned to see the red-cheeked Rimm, whose eyes were focused solely on the spiky-haired man.  
"Man... Cloud, that was bad. If you would've just put more spirit into it, I'd have guessed for sure," Zack muttered.

"And it's still early summer..." someone mumbled.

* * *

**R.R.**  
(I know the world of FF7 doesn't have Christmas or Santa Claus, but I used those names anyway. If you don't like that too much I'm sorry - you can try calling them something else if you wish...)  
The last bit of this chapter was to make it clear to you that the threesome are friends, and that Rimm has a thing for fantasy characters(as described underneath the picture of her that I posted on DeviantArt), just like you. (you _are _reading a FF7 story, after all) And also like me. Hehah.

All your reviews violently pierce my heart... with extreme gratefulness and joy and fuel!


	8. Field Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. This is _fan_-fiction.

Yes, I am unstable. And a little disturbed and mood-swingy. So your reviews mean a lot to me and make me really happy and giggly!  
(Thank you extremely much, Tracy, for pointing out the mistakes! I've fixed them now!)  
I hope you don't skip paragraphs. If you do... _may your guilt trip be lengthy. _

* * *

Field Day

* * *

"I can't come with them! If I do, who'll deliver lunch here?"

"That has already been taken care of. Until you return, I shall see to it that your tasks are tended to. Your mission will be cooking - that is all. You will, of course, receive a bonus in additio to your usual pay," Tseng explained. They were in his office, and Rimm had already delivered lunch a while ago.

"...Uh, okay..." she said, her enthusiasm only lukewarm. This was not really something she had a say in at all. Refusing was not worth the trouble.  
"Very well. Bring only items that are important. Kitchen equipment will be brought by the others. Meet the team outside in an hour."

Rimm stared at him with a slight frown. An hour?

It took her half an hour just to _get home_. And she wanted to take a shower and ready a backpack, as well as get something to eat before leaving. She was already short on time.

"...Okay, bye, Mr. Tseng, I'll be there on time-" While speaking, Rimm left his office and hurried to the glass lifts. Even though those were meant for the higher-ups only(and herself only when she was actually delivering lunch), they were the fastest way to get down. It was an easy feat for her to get down to the first floor without being noticed - no one bothered stopping her. She left in a hurry, aware that if she wanted to get there on time, she had to run faster than she had ever done before. Or at least as fast as she had done back when Sephiroth was little, and she had been caught stealing food by the chef. Speaking of which, that had left her shaky for quite a long time. It had felt good, though, to outrun the woman.

Somehow.

An hour later, few minutes before noon, she returned to the main entrance of the Shinra HQ.

To say that she was exhausted was an enormous understatement. She was heaving so loudly it sounded like she had sponges in her lungs, her hair was wet from her super-fast shower and there were crumbs around her mouth and on her clothes from her quick meal. Some crumbs had also made their way _into _her clothes and were currently quite content making her skin feel itchy. Her backpack carried only half of the things she had originally wanted to bring. She had hurried as if her life depended on it. As if they were really going to war.

And when she finally got to the Shinra HQ, not a single person was waiting. Was she late? ...Who was she supposed to wait for, anyway? Soldiers only?  
"Hey, over here!" a familiar voice shouted.

When she turned around, she was greeted with the sight of a single bus-like van, in which there couldn't _possibly_ be any room left for _her._ How did they expect her to squeeze into that overcrowded, full, jam-packed vehicle? The chassis was already too close to the ground for her comfort. The only place that _wasn't_ crowded, was the driver's seat, and the seat next to it. Zack drove, and Sephiroth sat next to him. There was no way she could ever, _ever,_ squeeze in next to _him. _

No way. At all. Never, never, never, _never, never_. She had no reason as to why, she just felt she couldn't.

"...You comin'?" Zack asked. Rimm walked closer, aiming for Zack's door. More than one of the Soldier members watched her dumbfounded face as she peeked inside. Rimm didn't pay the others heed, as she was quite busy preventing her knees from feeling like jelly. For there was no room at all _next _to Sephiroth. She would have to sit on his lap.

"Over my _dead body!_ I'd..! Rather..!" she started, her fists shaking and her eyebrows twitching. What _would_ she rather do? Perhaps there was room under the seats. Surely, no one could be hiding under there already. Rimm marched around the van, brushing crumbs away from her clothes while doing so.

"The other trucks and buses are taken, or they're being repaired. So we only had this thing at our disposal. Get in. _Squeeze_ in, if necessary!" Zack said cheerfully once Rimm let the door slide open. And under the seats...

Full.  
A rather displeased-looking man with spiky hair occupied the spot, perhaps with another person or two somewhere behind him, along with a lot of bags. And food. _No room _for_ her._

"Holy..." Unbelievable. If she hadn't seen this with her own eyes, she would never have believed it was possible.

Then she shut the door and walked behind the van while her mind was racing, and to her great relief she found a ladder that would take her to the roof of the vehicle. With no hesitation, but rather relieved instead, she climbed it and got onto the roof. It was railed, providing her with something to hold on to in case Zack decided to drive too fast.

"Are you _sick?_" It was Zack speaking.  
"Yes!"

He wouldn't drive fast anyway, not with that many people in the van. She was _not_ going to change her mind. After a loud sigh of defeat from the driver(which somehow made it sound like Zack was grinning), Rimm quickly made sure her backpack was on properly, then held on as the engines started. It was in the middle of summer, so a little wind would do no harm. The ones _inside_ would have to deal with _much _warmer and sweatier conditions than she would. The thought almost made her smirk, but she thought better of it. Then again, they were tough enough to handle it.

Then Zack drove the van away from Shinra HQ, heading for the outskirts of Midgar.

* * *

"I swear, Rimm, on the way here each and all of the Soldier members said _they_ wanted sit on the roof on the way back. Your idea sparked their brains into action. Didn't think that was possible."

Zack was in a good mood. He and Sephiroth were supervising some of the newest Soldiers. They were still of low rank, though. Apparently all of them would have to stay outside Midgar until each of the newbies managed to kill a certain number of fiends each. Rimm had picked up the quota number: Ten. They had to kill or chase away ten fiends each. Most of them were already doing quite well. While they were busy training, Rimm made food using the fire that had seemingly popped out of nowhere. And Zack was talking to anyone who bothered listening, keeping their spirits up.

"But... poor fiends..." she said sympathetically. The fiends hadn't done anything. And they were pretty weak as far as she knew.  
"...Were you listening to what I said?" Zack questioned.

"No."  
This reply was rewarded with something between a laugh and a snort from Zack.

Once the food was finally ready it was starting to get dark, even though it was in the middle of summer. That meant it was really late. By that time all of them were starving, and Rimm herself was quite pale, of different reasons. First of all, she was freezing. She had no idea it could get this cold during summer. _Where _was the sun and the heat she had despised so strongly earlier today?

"What'sha madda with yu'?" a man asked her, his mouth full. Rimm suppressed a surprised frown at his accent.

"I... usually... _deliver_ food..." she said, completely without spirit. Frankly, she was feeling like a pale shell. If that made sense.  
"Eeh? What'cha mean?" At this, Rimm spent some long seconds trying to figure out what to say. Suddenly the fire looked tremendously interesting. In some way it managed to spark her irony.

"...I never _make _food. This time, I had to place the fate of my soul into the hands of the directions written on the back of the food crates... I find it unnerving to be reminded of the fact that if my attempts fail miserably, a bunch of Soldier members might cook _me_ instead," she mumbled, intently speaking differently from how she usually spoke. The food was nothing extraordinary. She knew, because she had tasted it herself.

"_Man!_ How _good!_" the black-haired 1st Class Soldier spoke from the other side of the fire, with a passion that looked surprisingly real. Was it really that good? The light from the fire left his eyes extraordinarily shiny.  
"Yeah. When ya' hungry, all food tastes like high-class rest'rant food, yeh?" the man next to her said.

And they kept shoveling in. And _she_ quietly pitited them for liking the food, mentally _begging _that the others' (Sephiroth in particular) senses were not delicate enough to pick up all the flaws about the food she had prepared. Hopefully their stomachs wouldn't start aching later.

* * *

Everyone was asleep already. Rimm tossed and turned quietly, tired, but unable to sleep. The ground was hard, she had no mattress and had to use a blanket instead, the air was too cold during the night, the grass was dewy and wet, people snored, _and_ an insanely strong smell of sweat lingered around them. The latter two created a weird feeling of safety.

...Safety..?

Since when did her brain associate snoring and _sweat_ with _safety_? That was abnormal. She was going insane.

At the moment, she was shaking. Whether it was because of the dew, the cold air, the stench, the mosquitoes, or the other insects crawling on every blanket within her field of vision, she didn't know for sure. It was most likely a combination it all. Either way, she was pretty close to the nearly dead fire. The Soldiers around her seemed to crawl closer and closer to the fading source of warmth. That left her with no space at all. At least they shielded her against fiends. Perhaps _that_ was why she associated their snoring and sweating with safety. She still couldn't sleep, though.

But that was usual.

Sighing deeply, she pushed herself up and faced the fire. After picking up a few warm stones and dusting them, she put them on top of her blanket and wrapped them in it, then threw it over her shoulder and stole away. The sound of snoring men stifled her steps.

Rimm didn't stop before she was at the edge of the camp, at a very small hill a little taller than the ground around it. It was more like a rock, or a flat boulder, but it was _dry._ Besides, the snores weren't as loud around there. She walked back and picked up some stray blankets that no one else used. After returning to her new-found nest, she dropped them to the ground and sat down. Then she unwrapped the warm stones and held them close. They were like hot water bottles. A trick she had learned from her mother. With her own blanket on top, it was comfortable enough.

* * *

She was going to _kill_ those stones. They were so cold her body ached, yet still not cold enough for her to want to throw them away. To add to her frustration, the sun was still not up. Nothing at all had happened during the night other than herself tossing and turning just as much as before. Even when she curled into a ball, she just couldn't seem to gather enough warmth. Letting go of an intently loud sigh she sat up, aware that the shadows under her eyes had turned into canyons overnight. If someone commented it, she would kill them. Mercilessly.

...Verbally. Because _physically_, she stood no chance.

"Are you awake?"

Rimm jerked upright, still sitting, though now her back was significantly straighter than before. Easily recognizing the voice, she looked over her shoulder. It was Sephiroth. He was walking closer quietly, so as not to disturb his slumbering minions. Event though it occurred to her that she had no chance whatsoever to defeat him, be it physically, verbally or even mentally, her lack of sleep quite skillfully (and inconveniently) took control of her ability to speak:

"...I am in the mental state of one _wishing _to be brought to her execution." Okay. She would leave it like that and stop speaking before she said anything bad.

"Do you require my assistance?"

...Okay. When it came to a potential execution, _no_. Sephiroth was a person she _couldn't_ handle verbally.

His comment disturbed her more than she liked. Was he really one to say things like that? The hair in her neck stood on end, and she had an unreasonably strong feeling that she was frowning deeply. At the same time, Sephiroth came to a halt quite close to where she was sitting, thus leaving her with a feeling of utter inferiority. Like usual. He was so strong and tall, and his shoulders so broad. And the tales told about his sword did not make her feel better. The silver blade looked so thin that she couldn't help but think it reminded her of porcelain. Why porcelain? That blade could slice _anything_ in half, even metal, leaving behind only a line of shining energy - and at times, blood. To add to her distress, the Masamune was not on his back, but in his left hand. He held it so easily.

"_Nnn_o thank you," Rimm said breathlessly - it was more of a weak whisper, really - and struggled to her feet while still holding the blankets - her only source of warmth - around herself. Sephiroth turned to watch the others with a distant look on his face.

"So, are they doing well? Have they killed ten fiends each yet?" Rimm asked.  
"...At this rate, we may have to stay here for one more day."

Quietly, she searched his profile. He seemed to be at least twice as tall as the eight-year old Sephiroth she remembered. Also, he was definitely stronger and wiser, not to mention more experienced. Somehow, he was also a lot more distant. Could things return to how they used to be back then? She doubted she'd be able to act as nonchalantly around him as she had done back then. Also, back when he was eight years of age he had somehow been equal to her. Now the difference between them was greater by far. Unaffected by the wind and his own hair billowing, Sephiroth narrowed his eyes only slightly, and Rimm slowly averted her eyes. Did he still keep a few memories from before, or did he want to avoid her? ...She _could_ be a bother at times.

"So, how come none of the fiends come lurking in the middle of the night?" she asked, just to start a conversation.  
"Even the dumbest of fiends stay away from crowds as large as this one."

That was obvious. She shouldn't have asked.

"Good. Then I don't have to feel insecure. I'll have guards watching me at all times until we leave and all," she tried, flashing a cheerful smile. Of some reason, Sephiroth seemed to be in a bad mood. Or perhaps that was just the way he was; _Serious._ Either way, her attempts to lighten the atmosphere were no good. Then, if _she_ couldn't do it, why was it so easy for Zack? Those two were friends, or so she thought. At least that was what Zack claimed. Did that mean _she_ was _not _a friend of Sephiroth? Because she could not cheer him up and act naturally around him?

"You did not sleep well." It was a statement, an unexpected one. Not a question.

"Ya." Her reply was short and informal, and was immediately followed by something that sounded like a hiccup, since she realized too late that such an informal reply might not have been a good idea. She could have given him a stately _'yes'_, or a simple _'yeah'_, but instead she had went with _'ya'_. What was she _doing?_ She was speaking with the most powerful man on the planet. If he wanted to, he could slice her into pieces that were so small and fine that he could tape them onto a number of white plastic plates to form words, then send said plates to whichever dictionary or thesaurus company that was largest, and demand (with words literally made out of pieces of her body) that they remove all words similar to, or with the same meaning, as _'ya'_. If she wasn't already white as a sheet, she was _now._

* * *

As the day progressed, most of the Soldiers managed to complete the task given to them. It was already dark when the last of them completed the objective. Of this reason it would do no good to start packing their things and hurry back to Midgar in the middle of the night. Besides, some people were already asleep, and the others were too tired to move around much. Himself and Zack were exceptions. So, because there was no food left, they had moved most of the equipment back to the van, leaving behind only the blankets that the low-level Soldier members would use tonight.

They would stay only until the sun rose the next day. Then they would leave this wasteland and return to Shinra.

Meanwhile, Zack made sure all tracks of their fire were erased, and Sephiroth was on guard in case fiends came too close. Despite his earlier words to Rimm(who by the way was acting overly cautious of some reason), the monsters were getting used to them. They were lurking around. Some only to scout and to find out whether or not the humans were a threat, others possibly looking for someone they could pick a fight with. If they were to come too close, Sephiroth would allow neither.

No one would be hospitalized because of some petty, weak fiends.

So he stayed up all night.

Much later, upon feeling a warm sensation on the back of his head, he uttered a quiet sigh and shut his eyes for a moment. Vaguely registering that the sun slowly rose enough to warm his back as well, he frowned and got to his feet. The first person he spotted was Zack. He lay sprawled on the ground, sleeping with his mouth open, wearing a calm and carefree expression even now. If Sephiroth were any stricter (and less tactful) than he was, he might have stalked straight over there to stamp the man's face with his boot. But there was no need. The monsters were not close enough to pose a threat.

"...You have ten minutes."

His voice was not loud, yet it cut through the morning silence like a sharpened blade, and sounded cold and demanding. It startled most of the sound sleepers, and when they were awakened and started moving(some stumbling over the others, even), the others woke up as well, one by one. The chain reaction of awakening spread, as did the 'ten-minute' warning. They got to their legs, temporarily making it hard for Sephiroth to see too far, but that did not matter. They were awake, and could protect themselves, even if the fiends came at them in packs. The creatures were too weak. The men uttered surprised cries upon stumbling over each others legs and bags, as many of them had moved about during the night, thus ending up somewhere else than they had originally fallen asleep. The General could not decide whether he should let himself be amused or disappointed.

Consequently, however, he failed to see that a rather weak monster had gathered enough courage and stupidity to close in on their cook. She was awake, yet quite oblivious to what inched nearer from behind her.

Meanwhile, despite not seeing it with his eyes, Sephiroth could tell that the lone creature closed in on them. It was a small and rickety creature, though, so the Soldiers would be fine even if their stomachs were empty and their concentration was slurred by sleep. Even so, he could still not pinpoint its faint presence, though. But it was only a matter of time before he would. Who of his men would spot it first?

"...Is it really smart to wait for them to find the fiend?" Zack asked sleepily upon getting up. "I mean, Rimm is in that direction an' all."  
"She is?" he asked, not too concerned. Even Rimm would be able to handle that fiend.

"_**Aaah!**_ Get _off,_ you- you _thing_!"

Sephiroth had seemingly come to conclusions too soon. The moment their cook shouted, the four-legged monster gave a displeased bark and jerked away from her her immediate attack range. Upon seeing the other Soldiers looking its way, it turned and left, quickly leaving behind the quite distressed Rimm. She was fuming and trembling at the same time. Sitting on her knees with her hands in the dirt in front of her, she frowned deeply while gritting her teeth. Even as the others approached her she kept muttering things under her breath. Needless to say, she did not look too pleased.

"Stupid little rascal... scamp... Inarticulate beast, doing stuff like that..."  
"Ya shouldn't speak like that, ya know," Zack said upon coming close enough. Sephiroth slowly approached as well, and the younger Soldiers scattered to give way. He moved no closer, however.

"I have to say _something! _I'm not swearing!" she retorted, and Zack grinned.  
"I'm glad you're fine, then!"

"I am _not!_" she exclaimed, waving her left arm so he could see. Her gray jacket was slightly torn close to the elbow, and the marks were most likely left by claws. No holes, though. Farther up, though, at her wrist, were holes that went through the fabric. A little stuffing even came out, even though the jacket was not that thick. Rimm pulled her arm close, only watching Zack while continuing to speak - now quietly, as if realizing she had caught a little too much attention.

"I have to buy a new one now! The _pain!_ The economical _pain!_ I'm feeling spiritual bankruptcy!" She really _did _wear an expression of pain.

"Hey, it's really not that bad. You're overreacting! You can sew it back together," another person said. Instead of glaring back, she let out a sigh that was deep and long enough to express the honest despair she experienced at the words she heard.  
"Even thread and needles cost money..."

Somehow, even if she knew perfectly well how annoying she was(or so Sephiroth guessed), she did not have it in her to stop just yet.

"Disperse."

* * *

And upon hearing that single utterance from the General, the others darted and raced all over the place, some to get their blankets, others to tidy the last pieces of garbage, and a few to tend to other needs. Rimm too felt the blood in her veins freeze to some degree when she heard the voice.

Accordingly, she jumped to her feet and turned to leave her spot, staying remarkably quiet. She didn't get to walk for long before her left arm was grabbed by her elbow and pulled up behind her. Holding back an utterance of pain(which was not really thatbad at all), she willingly stopped. If she tried turning around, her arm would definitely hurt more. But she didn't need to do that when she could simply look over her shoulder. Sephiroth, wearing a bored, indifferent look, inspected the hole in her jacket. Rimm looked forward again. Or actually down. He could at least have asked for permission to wring her arm like that. He probably felt like he had to check her arm, because it was his duty as a General. And because she had been an annoying bother so far(she admitted it and was ashamed of it - belated wisdom was sure to continue pursuing her for the rest of her life at this rate), he didn't even feel compelled to talk to her. And therefore, she felt like she had nothing to lose and continued her rambling.

"My, I appreciate your concern for _my jacket_, but I'll clean its wounds, perform surgery and bandage it as soon as I get home." She did not speak loudly, but her quiet mumbles still carried to his trained ears. He let go of her arm without speaking.  
"Thanks again, but my arm is fine. It's only my jacket that's mortally wounded." She did sound rude, but inside she still felt gratefulness for his concern. Because of this she immediately figured she had to vanquish any positive feelings against him so she wouldn't be disappointed later.

"...Is that so?" he inquired, sounding as if he didn't believe her.

"Huh? It's true. My arm is fine. It's just a little warm."

The look on his face did not change much, but it still expressed something that she had not seen him express for a while. She could see it. For a second, he had deliberately looked like he could _really_ not find a way to describe with _words_ how little of the situation she had actually assessed. It was a look of disappointment, and _maybe _amusement at the same time.

"You are right. It is not serious at all." He sounded just like he usually did, bu at the same time it seemed as if he was trying to spell something out for her.

Rimm looked at him suspiciously, then eyed her arm through the holes in her jacket. Her eyes widened.

"Blood..!" she said disbelievingly, without breath and without force. Through the hole, what she saw was a dark red streak. It was already dry, but when she looked closer, there were other blotches farther up. It was only a matter of time before the blood would come through the jacket fabric. Quickly she pulled up the sleeve and looked at the wound angrily. On her wrist, tooth marks tainted her skin like some sadistic arm decoration, still spilling blood, little by little. Mixed with anger, evident fear became more apparent. Her hands shivered. She knew she looked like she wanted to curse. But she held back.

"...Does blood go away in the washing machine?"

* * *

The question was oddly sincere, and she looked perfectly serious. Sephiroth still couldn't help himself when a dumbfounded look made its way to his eyes. Still the rest of his face remained calm, and he did not allow himself to watch her with wide eyes for more than a split second. It was gone in a flash.

What truly mattered was that the wound was not serious, nor deep. All the same, it could have been _much _worse if that fiend would have bit her only half an inch off where the current wound was. Rimm's arterial blood vessel could have been punctured.

"My jacket..." she muttered as Zack brought a medic over. After cleaning the small injury, the medic bandaged her wrist, claiming that using several small band aids on each tooth mark from the fiend would be a waste. He was right. Still, the bandage made it look more serious than it was. Rimm continued to mumble random, nettlesome things, including words and phrases like 'that pig', 'this thing is itchy', 'wait for my revenge', and 'I hope the 24/7 store has something strong enough to clean off the blood stains'. The others seemed to enjoy this, though.

Eventually everyone got in the van. With all the food devoured, there was more space than last time, but it was still crowded. And with her wrist like that, Rimm was not allowed to sit on the roof and hold onto the railing. In the end a few others were lucky enough to get the seat on the roof, while she and the others had stay inside the van.

* * *

**R.R.  
**(-has nothing to say-)


	9. Insomnia and Clichés

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or Jaws.

Remember: Between each chapter, some weeks pass in the story... (but it differs from chapter to chapter)  
...Reviews really _do _mean a lot to me, and they help me write better...

* * *

Insomnia and Clichés

* * *

In her eyes, everything was floating. All the people, the corridors and halls, and even the furniture seemed to be moving slowly as if underwater. Or perhaps they were all actually moving really fast and her eyes couldn't keep up. Either way, Rimm was slower than them all. By the time she was done delivering the lunch, she was _positive_ she knew exactly how it felt to move about in syrup. Her legs were _heavy_ and her mind was not working the way she wanted it to. Worst of all, she could not quite figure out which floor she was on. There was a chance she was going in circles.

Thanks to a water dispenser that was quite conveniently placed within her range, she gathered enough energy to fill a cup and down the cold liquid. That would keep her awake for at least some minutes.

"Off I go..." she muttered, sounding like an old lady, feeling her voice vibrate in her head so loudly that she had to stop again.

Her current state had something to do with her lack of sleep. She had once watched a documentary about it, which claimed that if a grown person slept for only five hours for several days in a row, it would have consequences for the person's ability to react and think properly. Now, because _she_ had slept for approximately one or two hours each night for a much longer period of time, she was doomed to suffer from it somehow. Perhaps she would turn into a lesser human only capable of remembering things that had happened some minutes before. Of course, there were nights during which she suddenly slept well for more than nine or ten hours, but that happened less frequently than before.

The warmth didn't make it any better. Summer was about to turn into autumn, but the heat stuck to Midgar like a fly clung to poop. Or like President Shinra clutched onto his money. Or like Rapunz- _Sephiroth_ held onto his Masamune.

_No silly thoughts. No silly thoughts._..

"Ship ahoy." The lift was right in front of her. There was no way she could miss it.

"Um, excuse me? Can you come over here for a minute?" someone called, and when no one replied to the shrill voice, Rimm raised an arm with some difficulties and pointed at herself in question.  
"Yes, you." The woman (who at some point had appeared next to her) seemed to be annoyed. She also appeared to be slightly arrogant, as she made quite an effort of looking _down_ on Rimm. Or was that just because Rimm was about to fall asleep on the empty trolley and was stooping down without noticing it?

Unable to let go of it, she brought her trolley along and followed the secretary. The woman walked amazingly fast. After a while the she started looking like a tiny, black and white spot in the distance. Black skirt, white shirt. Both colors looked like they were floating around, like a mirage wanting to grow into a complete, almost physical illusion. Luckily for Rimm, the secretary had stopped, making it possible for Rimm to catch up.

"Did you do this?" the woman asked once Rimm came close enough. She had a vague suspicion that she looked like an old woman with a walker. Not that it mattered. It was only a matter of time before she _would_ be. Or so it felt.

The woman was pointing at a poster of Sephiroth in the hallway, right in front of the stairs going down. The Sephiroth on the poster looked odd. He had a mustache, and beard. Even glasses. In one hand he held his Masamune, while in the other, a giant, badly drawn lollipop resided. Of this reason, the strange Sephiroth would be the first thing people would see when they came to this particular floor.

"No." It was correct that she had once thrown arrows at similar posters, and even pulled down some of them, but that was a fair while ago. Besides, she had done it for Reno. In exchange he had delivered lunch for her for one day. It had been a lousy deal. Just thinking about it made her feel worse.  
"...Are you awake, or... ill?" the secretary asked.

A sound was heard from behind one of the closed doors - the one Rimm (or more specifically, her _trolley_) was standing in front of.

While Rimm busied herself with the task of comprehending the question, the door opened with enough force to break off its hinges. In a jumble of noise and screaming, the trolley was forcefully wrenched out of her grip by the flying object. Voices shouted various loud exclaims, which to Rimm seemed incomprehensible, and a whiff of air from the door reached her. Without anything to hold on to, she stepped back while moving her arms languidly. Suddenly her feet had no contact with the floor.

...Wasn't the _stairs_ supposed to be just about where she was?

"Hey!" A big, strong hand seized her arm by her elbow, but it was already too late - she was falling.  
If the man didn't let go, he would fall too. That would be worse for them both.

The man seemed to realize. Consequently, the sudden absence of the grip on her arm alerted her to what was going to happen. The man had let go of her, so as not to fall on top of her, and now she was falling alone. She was now - _finally_ - realizing that she was falling, and that she was going to hurt herself.

It was _then_ that she woke up fully. From that second, things happened much too fast. What just happened? Why was the door broken? What now?

Upon impact with the stairs she uttered a pained exclamation, and gritting her teeth, she continued coiling down.

Rimm frowned and pulled her arms around her while rolling down, feeling her shoulders and legs act as cushions upon hitting some steps while skipping others. On the way down she hit the wall once, but immediately steered away from it, afraid to have hit a person. Then she stopped. It hadn't taken nearly as long as she had thought it would. There was a chance she was not the only one having 'descended' the stairs, so she waited, still shielding herself with her arms. No one came. Nothing crashed into her. Not even her trolley. She had half expected it to roll down after her, since she had clutched onto it all day.

"Hey! Hey, you okay?" That was Reno's voice. Rimm let her arms fall and sighed loudly and wearily. Even if her back and her ribs ached somewhat, the floor felt incredibly comfy. Still, even if she tried having a nap, she wouldn't fall asleep. Speaking of naps - this had happened before, only then, a door had hit _her _and not her trolley_._ She had worn band aids for quite a while. And now that the bruise on her forehead was finally gone, she would get new ones on the rest of her body. And band aids weren't free. And she could've been hurt.

So _now, _she was _really _awake.

"I almost DIED! Look! Look at the horrible state I'm in! I've lost enough brain cells to halve my IQ!" she exclaimed, swaying as she sat up and got to her knees.

"Whoa! You're still light headed, yo, so calm down! Your mind is weird right now. Just, errh, rest? Ain't that what sick people do?" the Turk said. He earned a cold, yet confused glare, which looked much darker than intended due to her visible tiredness. Her eyes were probably bloodshot.

"What happened, anyway?" she demanded while struggling to her feet. A numbing pain shot up her leg.

...Her... ankle?

Gritting her teeth, she supported herself by standing against the closest wall. This was _the_ most _cliché_ thing that could happen. And there was _no way_ she would tell anyone about it. Never. A sprained ankle was the ultimate queen cliché of clichés. And clichés were bad. She did not want to be associated with clichés. Also, she did not want to repeat the word cliché in her mind any more. Clichés made her feel ill. It was probably a little too late to want such a thing, though. Stupid cliché-addict-ankles.

"Well... Actually I was helpin' with some boxes and crates. While openin' them and stuff, I found a really stubborn lid on one of them and got into a fight with it to open it, yo. When the lid finally came off, I fell backwards and hit the door with enough force to knock it off. I s'pose I'll have to pay for it later."

Was that a likely story?

Did it matter at all if it was likely or not?

"Ah, that's okay... Anyway, I have to go. Bye."

Feigning a cheerful look, she went back up the stairs while suppressing the pain in her ankle. To her, it felt like a Lightning spell rocketed from her heel, up her leg and her back and all the way to her brain every time she stepped. Why did such a thing have to happen? She had never twisted an ankle before. At least she was _awake_ now. But that meant she wouldn't be getting any sleep later. Her medicine was too ineffective, so she didn't bother using it. And it was expensive. Well, that, _and_ she didn't want to become addicted to it. But most of all, to make it work, she had to use a load of it. And that wasn't safe. She blamed her highly confused immunity system. Once again gritting her teeth, she took hold of the empty (and luckily, _whole_) trolley and marched - with as little weight as possible on her twisted ankle - to the glass elevators.

* * *

Some weeks ago, before the field day during which the newest Soldiers got to test their skills, Sephiroth had had no paperwork left. That had left him with an extended period of freedom at his disposal. This short 'vacation' had left him with more time on his hands than he had ever had to himself before. He had spent time relaxing and doing nothing for days at end, simply relishing in the silence. Nothing more. To have that much time at his hands struck him as highly unusual. Therefore, instead of spending too much time inside his apartment in the burning summer heat, he had quickly left to train outside of Midgar. It was even warmer there, with the sun shining and no black clouds shielding him. However, it was still warm enough in Midgar for the hot air to make buildings to almost disappear in mirages.

But when he returned, the piles of paperwork in his office once again took him aback.

How was it even possible for somebody to get that much paperwork? And he had finished so much before leaving - had Scarlet, Heidegger, Palmer _and_ President Shinra left their paperwork in his office? Were the secretaries in on this? Did they, by any chance, only do this to get his signature on as many papers as possible, so as to copy and sell them? Next time he had time off, he needed to lock _and seal _his office. If necessary, he would leave a note on his door asking people to refrain from leaving their paperwork there.

Sephiroth had signed papers all day, with the exception of the time he spent delivering them. And upon his return, lunch had been delivered already. Rimm must have paid a visit when he was away. Sephiroth's hand was twitching from all the writing. He had only _barely_ resisted his urge to write _'Seph.'_ instead of using his full name. But his intelligent side - which still took good care of his dignity, and for that he was grateful - had made him come to his senses fast enough. That did not mean he did not harbor a growing annoyance. He would rather be sent on missions instead of signing papers.

Either way, he was currently in the lift and was on his way home. The rest of the paperwork could wait. After all, if he finished it all again, he would only be given more.

A 'beep' alerted him, and he watched as the lift stopped. Knowing it was to let in another person, he looked up - through the glass door that was now opening - and saw that it was Rimm. He had not seen her since the field day.

She pushed her trolley inside and stood next to him. Needless to say, there was not much room left for either of them.

"Sorry. Good afternoon, General." For once, she called him without saying _'Mr' _or _'Sir'._ Her voice was remarkably normal, considering she looked like she was in pain.  
"Good afternoon. You seem to be in pain." He deliberately avoided speaking her name. As she had done. Also, he intently made it quite clear that he could see she was hurting - something that made her twitch, if only a little.

"...Reno, plus door, minus hinges, plus long stairs," was her short reply. An apologetic smile tugged at her mouth briefly, but disappeared.

"You fell down the stairs?" he asked, bemused. This time, he purposefully avoided asking whether or not she truly _was_ hurt. She would tell him if she felt it was the right thing to do.  
"I didn't stumble. And I'm okay, because I've developed a technique that lets me roll down stairs without sustaining extensive injuries." ...There was undoubtedly a trace of irony in her words, though only harmlessly and jokingly so.

"Do you fall down stairs often?"  
He was smirking.

"...No! Only twice, counting in this one. My first fall took place on a sight-seeing trip with my parents. We climbed some incredibly long and broad stairs, made of white, cold, hard marble - I remember it vividly - and when we arrived on the top, I was so tired I stumbled and rolled down. Not all the way, but still long enough for me to figure out how to properly shield myself to reduce the damage done to me. In the end I rolled off the stairs and went downhill."

Spontaneously, Rimm had just told him a short story from her past. She had done so back then, too, when he was but eight years old. Even so, this story seemed to carry more meaning; In the past, Sephiroth had taken most of her stories for granted. But for her to tell him such a past experience _now_ meant she was getting more comfortable. Perhaps - in a way he could not quite explain with words, yet that he could fathom and comprehend perfectly well in his mind - parts of their old friendship was not impossible to regain.

"I'll just leave the trolley on this floor..." she informed, then pushed the stop button. The glass elevator stopped, and she shoved the handcart out when the doors opened. Then she pushed the 1st floor button, and they continued down. It was already a lot roomier than before.

"Will it be okay like that?" he asked, referring to the cart.  
"Sure. They others'll find it. If not, I'll get it another day."

The excuse was plausible. Still... It was possible that she did not wish to move or walk around more than necessary. Sephiroth eyed her covertly to find traces of injuries, but found none. Her loose-fitting jeans and gray jacket made sure of that. Speaking of which, was that the same jacket she wore at the field day? If so, she had done a good job sewing it. As for the pain she suppressed, if it was serious, she would say so.

"Ah, finally! I really can't stand upright any longer. I need some rest," Rimm said, relief evident in her voice and her face as the lift stopped at the lowest floor.

Sephiroth followed, watching her steps. A limp? She hid it, but not enough for him not to notice. In fact, it would not be an understatement of him to say it looked like she focused far more on outrunning his strides than hiding her hobble, because her limp was, in fact, poorly hidden. Nonetheless she stopped.  
"Anyway, I'll be off. Are you done for the day?" His eyes darkened at that, finding himself vexed at the though of her acting so nonchalantly. It was obvious she did not have enough confidence in him to tell him about whatever had resulted in her limp.

"Is-" _your leg all right?_ He was not supposed to know. She did not wish for him to know. To add to this, he knew the answer.  
"-your arm fine?"

"What? ...From the field day?"  
"...Yes." _No. Your leg, from the stairs. _How it annoyed him to hold back those words when he knew there was a chance she _was_ in pain. As a General, it was up to him to check on his subordinates frequently, and to make sure they were tended to by the medics. But no, Rimm was not his subordinate, as she had been on the Soldier expedition. It was not his place to be worried. Especially so if she wished to keep some distance between them.

"It got infected. It looked bad for some days, but it passed quickly. My arm is definitely fine."

After that she exited the Shinra Headquarters without showing any pain whatsoever, oddly enough. No one greeted her, or even glanced at her twice. _Sephiroth himself,_ however, immediately turned into the ultimate center of attention. People who just happened to walk by the building at the time, were _not_ going to waste this once-in-a-lifetime chance to shake hands with the man presumed to be the strongest of all beings on the planet(or so they expressed themselves). There were only a few people in the beginning. But somehow word spread like fire. Small boys, older girls, mothers, fans and secretaries. And photographers, all intent on earning a few gil if they could get a good shot.

By the time he got away from them, Rimm was gone as if by a spell.  
...He should not let himself be bothered. The two of them were not like before - he had no such thing as a 'right to know' what kind of injury she bore.

It was for the best.

* * *

That was close. She had caught herself almost falling asleep in that lift. Falling asleep in a glass elevator fifty floors above the ground in the presence of General Sephiroth himself was _not_ something that could be explained as normal tiredness. The only thing that had kept her from flaking out was the pain in her leg. Every time she was about to drift off, she increased the weight on her foot. For a moment, she had thought Sephiroth could tell. What would he do if she admitted she'd twisted her ankle? Something cliché, like accompanying her to the doctor? Or carrying her bridal style to a castle in the clouds?

"Not in a million years..." she muttered in an almost frightened voice, limping towards her place. At this speed, it would take an hour. At least no one watched. She could limp, hobble and sway to her heart's content without being seen.

_'What are you, some kind of half-assed astronaut?'_

"Pfft-"

Of all times to remember a movie quote, she had to remember one _now._ Was she really falling asleep? Finally? No, was she already sleepwalking? ...She was a limping woman giggling by herself on the dark street, and definitely looked drunk. As for the quote, it was the only thing she actually liked about the film. What was it called, again? _Sharks_? ...No, _Jaws._ Rimm shuddered. With _her_ enthusiasm, _all _movies became exciting. Even commercial breaks. And such a movie as _Jaws _was therefore scary enough for her to get goosebumps from her toes to her head.

Her path home was straight, but it narrowed as she went. In the end tall, dark buildings towered far above her on both sides. The layer of black clouds prevented the sun from peeking through. In most of the apartments on both sides of the street, the lights were off. No windows, and no visible silhouetted anywhere. Only a single street light lit her road every five hundred feet or so, and if it hadn't been for them, she wouldn't have seen-

The closest street lamp went off. Only around _her._

...Was someone nearby?

_'I think he ate the light.'  
_Another quote from the film; _Jaws_. She had never been overly fond of it. The movie theme already played in her mind. A slow pulse... Goosebumps... An urge to pull her feet up and away from the ground...

It was _not_ smart to stay where she was. Stalkers, rapists, thieves, or just people looking for someone to bully; all possibilities were likely and none were pleasant, so she backed away and randomly entered the building closest to her. That really wasn't a wise thing to do, either, but there was no way she was going to stay out _here._

After entering the back entrance, she limped into an astonishingly clean and neat corridor with white walls and seemingly expensive, dark green slate floors. To a person with her own economy, the room looked like a magnificently long bathroom. The ceiling hosted spotlights, all of which cast dim lights. Could she have walked in the back entrance of some huge skyscraper wherein only the richest of rich people resided? Was this a place where only wealthy people could afford to stay? Impressed by the imposing sight(even though she had only seen a few spotlights and white walls yet), Rimm slowly hobbled deeper into the building.

After a minute or so she found the main entrance. She was in a big, open room, and noticed for the first time that the walls were not really _white,_ but rather off-white, perhaps ivory. She had no particular knowledge when it came to different names of colors that looked the same, so she would leave it at that. The floor was still dark. What she found most eye-catching was undoubtedly the installment in the middle of the room; A round, ivory bench circling around a fountain. It was little, and somehow didn't give a sound at all, but it was cleaner than anything else she had seen for a while. No small stones or pebbles were on the bottom of the shallow water, either. It was just pure water, in a marble fountain. And being herself, Rimm sat down on the circling bench with a sigh. How long would she be allowed to sit here before someone came to throw her out? Where were the hidden cameras? At least she could relish in the sight a little. Take it to mind and think of it when she was down.

"...Rimm?"

Dumbstruck, and feeling her jaw drop (if only a little), she turned around to see Sephiroth. _'What are you doing here?'_ was written all over his eyes (and hers, too). Indifference claimed the rest of his face. She was in an expensive place, so she had to chose her words carefully. Or so she figured. So she thought fast.

"Due to certain circumstances including _me_, my recollection of _film quotes_, as well as a suspicious malfunctioning street lamp on the opposite side of... the economical food chain, I perceived the necessity of temporarily sojourning in this... pulchritudinous corridor, and came to the conclusion that the wisest decision would be to stay for the time being." For a second, her tongue hurt as much as her ankle. Her reward was a small arch of an eyebrow and a slight tilt of a head from Sephiroth.

"_...Pulchritudinous _is a word most commonly used to describe humans, not hallways."

...And so he won again. Her vocabulary was insufficient.

"You know what I mean... Do you live here?" Obvious change of subject. But it was for the best. Sephiroth walked closer.  
"I fail to see the importance of me answering that inquiry."

While her thoughts pouted and screamed _'How mean!'_ for a second, Rimm's slightly more rational mind spoke up, telling her it was possible that Sephiroth was there in an errand. Perhaps he was delivering something, some paperwork, to someone he knew. Some classified material, to the likes of the President or his son, Rufus. Did _they_ live here? What could she say?

_Very well, I shall leave for __my side__ shortly. I see that I am not welcome in the company of the higher-ups._

Why did his words frustrate her so much?  
The only reason he didn't tell her was the risk of being overheard. Next thing he knew, tons of reporters and journalists would be at his door.

"Sorry, didn't mean to ask personal questions," she said, feigning a relaxed look while turning to watch the fountain behind her. Water dribbled soundlessly. Next thing she knew, she forgot all about the pain in her leg(and in the rest of her body, for that matter), and felt her eyelids droop a little. Then the pain felt like it was quickly turning into light, floating cotton, which left her with an irresistible urge to simply let this rare opportunity of sleeping overtake her. Even so, a small thing inside her head, deep down in her subconsciousness, told her that sleeping was impossible for her. _The distant sound of shifting leather told her nothing._ She knew this 'half-asleep' feeling too well, and did all but enjoy it. It was horrible. It really couldn't be described any other way than 'sitting on the boundary between sleeping and being awake, without being allowed to fall into slumber'. She couldn't, even if she wanted to. Right now she probably looked pretty funny.

"You are falling asleep." When she heard his voice, she arched her eyebrows and gave a sleepy smile. It vanished from her face when she suddenly realized Sephiroth sat next to her. Not _standing close_ to the bench, but he was _sitting_ there, _on_ the bench. She watched him for some long seconds, searching his indifferent features. Why was it that he was always smirking around Zack and the other 1st Class Soldiers, and never around others and herself? Was he uncomfortable around her, and them..? No, she doubted it. Were they simply... not worthy of him smirking, then? Was that a silly thing to think?

"Hah. I've been _'falling asleep'_ for weeks. No need to tell me about it." Her voice was cheerful, almost nonchalant. Drenched with stinging irony directed at herself.

"...Insomnia?" Why was it that he got to question _her_ when she didn't get to question _him?_  
"I suppose." And why did she answer? She should just copy him and say that she _'failed to see the importance of answering that inquiry.'_

Troubled, and visibly so, she used her hands for support and pushed herself to her feet. This time she couldn't suppress an expression of pain, and turned away from Sephiroth instead.

"There are medicines," were his simple words, but she didn't know if he meant for her insomnia or her ankle. She assumed the former. He didn't know about her ankle yet, right?

"I'm somehow resistant to the insomnia medicines that..." _that I can afford with my lousy wages._ "...that I've tried. I've tested most of them at least once, but they use the same ingredients, so..." She trailed off, but Sephiroth made no signs of intending to speak again. Turning back, Rimm found out that he wasn't even watching her.

"What I'm saying is that I don't want to try _drugging_ myself with narcotic substances like opium or morphine. I'd rather wait around and fall asleep on my own. I'll be fine." Not that he cared. And that hurt a little. If he was eight years again, would he express concern? But such a thing as turning back time was not possible. She was only a bother, apparently. Besides, back when he was eight years old, he had used to come to the kitchen to spend time with her because he _had no one else to spend time with._ Now, on the other hand, he had plenty of people who would gladly cut off their legs if they could catch a glimpse of him. He had no further use of her. She had been one of his many stepping stones and had supported him when no others were there. Now he had others who did that job more efficiently.

She was really, truly undermining their old friendship. It hurt.  
But was it better than having false hope?

"You could cast a Sleep spell," he spoke.  
...If he really didn't care, how would she explain _that _suggestion? ...Or was he just conversing?

"I made Zack cast that spell on me many times in a row without results." She was mumbling now. Even after having Sleep cast on her many times in a row, she hadn't shown any signs of being about to fall asleep. At most, she had been paralyzed for a short while.

"Anyway!" she suddenly exclaimed and clapped her hands once, suddenly painfully (literally) aware of the gloomy mood, and also equally aware that negative thoughts were spurting out of (and into) her mind like a waterfall.  
"...I'll get going." _No. I'll get __limping._  
"I won't bother you more than necessary, so bye," she announced, and left in a hurry, knowing she would cringe in embarrassment later when she recalled just how she had left.

After one last glance in Sephiroth's general direction, she found the narrow, but good-looking corridor that led back out. She opened the door a crack and peeked outside. The lights were back on. Feeling only slightly relaxed, she hurried outside and made her way to her own small apartment. To get there faster, without limping and thus showing her weakness, she jumped on one foot all the way. Then she skipped up all the stairs to the right floor. By the time she stood in front of her front door, her knee was shaking like a fortress of jellies experiencing an earthquake. Her ankle felt better, but in exchange, the bruises from her staircase-accident were starting to hurt just enough for her to notice.

* * *

**R.R.**  
And the insomnia part will be important.


	10. An Apology, a Blackout and a Crybaby

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. Let me know when it's for sale for ten dollar or less. Then I can afford it.

Early autumn in this chapter... Or late summer.  
Frehehehwheh. (means _fluff_.)

* * *

An Apology, a Blackout and a Crybaby

* * *

He had seen her almost every day for weeks. Without her knowing it, he had also observed the healing process of her ankle and her visible bruises from when she fell down the stairs. Monitoring others was mostly something he was used to do as a General. Still, it had occurred to him a few times that looking after her in such a manner was something he might also have done as an eight-year old. Rimm also seemed to have slept somewhat well, taking her her insomnia into consideration. She was more awake. In contrast to her positive recovery, however, the two of them were slipping away form each other again, and noticeably so. She tended to look away and avoid speaking to him more than what was absolutely necessary. Even though she did not exactly avoid him, she deliberately created a distance between them. Also, she even appeared to hurry out of his office every time she delivered lunch. It was as if she did, under no circumstances, wish to take his time.

In the beginning he had ignored it, obviously. Then it became rather suspicious, and in the end it simply turned conspicuous and awkward. After pondering the possibilities, he found _he_ might be the one onto whom the blame could be thrust. Thanks to his ability to remember things so clearly, he still recalled their conversation from the field day:

_"So, how come none of the fiends come lurking in the middle of the night?" she asked__, maybe to put an end to the quietness.  
"Even the dumbest of fiends stay away from crowds as large as this one."_

_That was obvious. Still, perhaps he should have used other words? Milder ones?  
"__...Good. Then I don't have to feel insecure. I'll have guards watching me at all times until we leave," she said, somewhat insecure, yet offering a lopsided smile.  
_

Right after that, a weak fiend had come lurching, which then attacked her off guard.

In a way, Sephiroth was to blame for not killing the monster, or at least for not ordering people over to Rimm immediately. No one had been there to guard her. If that bite would have been only a little bit to the right, left, or slightly higher up or lower down on her wrist, the injury would have been far more serious. Also, considering that even a small bite such as that was later infected(according to Rimm), how much more severe would the infection of a much larger wound be?

Either way, he had come to the conclusion that an apology might be in order. That was what she wanted, was it not? Or perhaps she had mistaken his behavior and believed Sephiroth had _wanted _her to get injured and thus stay away from him. Maybe she thought he had deliberately made her lower her guard with his words so that the fiend would attack her, and that his reason for such an act was to make her avoid him altogether. That could be why she so hurriedly left him with few or no words every day. To tell the truth, it vexed him. At a couple of occasions, he had found himself staring down the clock above the door while fingering his pen with one hand and supporting his head with the other - not even offering his paperwork a thought, as he was waiting for lunch to arrive. His annoyance was due to his partially unsuccessful attempts to analyze the true reason behind her keeping away from him. He was thinking about it too much. To describe it as it was, he could venture to say, he felt a sort of obligation to make sure all was well.

His jade eyes flickered to the door only a second before someone knocked. After a moment Rimm came inside, quiet, and wearing an awkwardly dull expression.

_Better get it over with._

"I apologize... for not disposing of the fiend that caused your hand injury in the span of the field day," he said tediously, his words spoken in a tone almost unvarying in pitch.

That was simple enough.

* * *

...Did he hate her? Was he testing her? ...Why did he give her a monotonous phrase like that?

Rimm looked at him suspiciously. She'd been trying her best the last few weeks. Every time she met Sephiroth, she did her best not to bother him. And, even though she barely noticed it, his mood seemed to grow fouler every day. That meant she was really getting on his nerves. Then he _apologized_ to her? Was this a test to see how annoying she was? Her true nature? Entertainment for him? Or some way to examine her honesty?

"...No problem. Really." Should she thank him for his concern? Or would that only make his eyebrow twitch so visibly that Rimm would want Reno to knock the door off it hinges again in a manner that made it kill her in one hit? She knew she was annoying at times. That was why she had been doing her best _not _to annoy him for a while.

"And thanks for your concern," she said mechanically, giving a worried smile while mentally cringing at how fake she sounded. Sephiroth observed her from his seat behind the desk, one hand holding a pen, the other resting next to the lunch box. Unable to hold his eyes, which by the way were so cold she felt like a naked pig lost on the snowy Northern Continent, Rimm averted her eyes to the piles on the floor.

Suddenly the amassed stacks of paperwork looked one hundred times more interesting than Rapunz- _Sephiroth_.

"No problem."

...What? _Huh?_

He sounded awfully relaxed. A trick? ...Malevolence?

Rimm turned to him and was struck entirely off guard upon seeing his face. Resting his head very lightly on both his hands, with his fingers intertwined, he watched her with something akin to expectancy. He was not smiling, nor smirking. His brows were only slightly arched, and his jade eyes were focused solely on her. There was no sign of malevolence, nor of mockery in his expression. In the very second she thought she would die of a horribly untimely heart attack caused by complete lack of knowledge as to what to do next, luck decided to put a temporary end to the torture she suffered:

The lights flickered off, leaving them in jet-black darkness.

"...Huh?" she uttered, breathless and indescribably relieved. A blackout? _Now? _...Would he see her if she flashed a huge, thankful smile in the darkness?

The only faint light source was the window behind Sephiroth. The rest of Midgar was also bathed in shadows - which thanks to the clouds left everything much darker than usual. Even though it was in the middle of the day, the smoke above Midgar still veiled the city persistently, as if intently refusing to let in the light when it was needed the most. Was something wrong with the Mako Reactors? If so, the main switches should be in Shinra's Headquarters, right? Or somewhere close to it. It should be guarded, though, so why didn't anyone turn it on again? ...Did they have to wait for long?

Wait. Sephiroth... He could see everything normally, despite the fact that everything inside his office looked completely black to her. Or couldn't he? He had proved it to her when he was little at one occasion; when they escaped from the roof of Shinra HQ after watching the fireworks. That was the last time they had seen each other before she... _vanished_.

"Ah, Sephiroth?" _Are you still in your chair? _If he was close to her of some unexplainable reason, he would scare the_ heck out of her._  
"...What?" Good. He was not close.

"Do you know if there are any... emergency switches? To turn on the lights?" She heard leather shift slowly and saw his silhouette against the window.  
"I _do _know that the person who should currently be guarding the main switches is meeting the President today, and it is his duty to turn the power on if an event like this occurs."

While talking, he brushed past her and she heard him open the door. Gradually getting used to the darkness, she willingly followed him into the hallway. But there were no windows there. Everything was bathed in inky blackness. After hesitating a little, Rimm stopped in the door frame, thinking it would be better to stay.

Then her arm was pulled along by her wrist. Despite her utterance of surprise, the strong grip did not loosen. The hand was gloved. Sephiroth? Sephiroth was pulling her along when he _knew _she couldn't see anything? Her surprise left her somewhat stunned and she didn't struggle, but instead let him guide the way while she tried to create a mental image of the corridors. She was trusting him blindly. _Literally_. He was testing her boundaries by moving fast, too. She had to jog to keep up. What was going on? Why bring her?

After passing through a number of corridors they slowed down and came to a halt.

"Stairs," sounded his warning. Then, before she comprehended the reason behind his words, they were ascending the stairs. Side by side they arrived on the next floor, miraculously without her stumbling. Sephiroth then let go, and Rimm found herself reaching out on reflex, not wanting to be left in a place she didn't know. Her hand touched only air. She then immediately pulled her arm back, highly unhappy at the fact that _she _had reached for _him._

Soon, though, she heard the sound of doors screeching upon being forced open. Normally it took a keycard to open it, but that wouldn't work right now. With the power gone and away, the elevators and electric doors were of no use. The keycards used to gain access to the upper floors were equally useless. The sound stopped and she heard a silent sigh, then her arm was grabbed again, this time around her elbow. She continued to willingly follow his every step. She was gradually calming down, a little happy she couldn't see his face. They walked up another set of stairs, and Sephiroth forcefully opened some other keycard doors. After having passed several similar floors, Rimm could barely divide his silhouette from the shadows in front of him. If the two of them had passed by others in the dark, she hadn't notice them.

After making their way up some other stairs, they arrived in a room with a familiar smell. A faint odor of expensive cologne, mixed with a much fainter scent of new leather furniture. The furniture was _always_ new here. The smell seemed even stronger than usual, too, as she had lost her breath on the way up and was inhaling it.

"President," Sephiroth said, devoid of emotion. Rimm felt his hand fall off wrist and stood still.

"What? Who is there?" an impatient, yet calm and dark voice replied. Definitely the President. Despite looking a tiny bit like Heidegger, he did most certainly _not_ have the same personality as him.

"I am Sephiroth."  
"...You are late. I would have had you escort the power guard back to the basement earlier, but the locked keycard doors up here decided to make things more difficult than necessary." Was that why the blackout hadn't ended yet? Because the guard was stuck up here? It was true that the glass elevators were not the only things that required a keycard to work properly.

"With all due respect, President, I have already forced the card-requiring doors open." At least some of them. His frigid voice made it sound as if the two of them weren't getting along too well.

"_All_ of the doors? Even those on the floors below your office?" The President made no attempt to hide his sarcasm.

"There is no need for me to open those, as the emergency exits _work_ down there." True. But there was only _one _emergency exit that she knew about, and that was in the shape of stairs on the _outside _of the building. It was not something people in general would willingly use to get down to the first level - not when it was so this dark outside. And _not _when there were fifty floors down to the ground. They would hardly be able to see where to step next.

Icy silence ensued. Rimm swallowed, mentally swearing to herself that she actually felt physically cold after Sephiroth spoke.  
"...Okay, if that's so, should I go on alone..?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Was that the guard? What was he doing all the way up here, anyway? He should be guarding the switches at all times. Perhaps he was reporting something to the President. Some kind of once-in-a-year report. A blackout just _had _to happen at the same time.

A flashlight flickered on and was waved around, first locating Sephiroth, then the guard, and finally herself. Having just adjusted to the darkness, she was once again blinded. The light came from behind the President's desk, obviously.

"Who is that?"  
"The lunch deliverer."

"Why did you bring her?"  
"I reckon she will be able to help the guard," Sephiroth said.

_What?  
_

"...Is that so?"

"It is obviously inconvenient for the guard to bring his baby with him to a room wherein most surfaces are more or less completely covered with switches, buttons and levers. It will be wiser to leave the baby here until the power is turned on. If I had chosen not to bring Rimm, the baby would have been entrusted in my care, or yours, am I right?"

Huh? Where?

...What baby?!

"Mr. General, Sir! How did you know I brought my daughter?" the guard asked. Rimm's head was spinning with unspoken questions.

"I saw you this morning. Your name and your job title was, and still is, written on your front pocket. As it was unusual for you to come _upstairs_ instead of going downstairs to where I assume you normally work, I paid extra attention. You are here for the yearly report with President Shinra in person. A friend of yours should be filling in for you today, but has obviously not arrived yet. The reason you brought your daughter with you is that her mother is working as well, and you had no one who could look after her, so you had no choice but to take her with you."

Rimm's head was no longer spinning. It was whirling at breakneck speed.

"I-I... I see..." It certainly didn't _sound_ like that.  
"This I only know because you talked with the person I assume is your wife on the phone in the lift." They had taken the glass lift together. The thing took thirty seconds - at most - to get from floor one to floor seventy. Yet Sephiroth somehow picked up that much?

"Ah... In that case... I'll leave Terran in your care... I'll be sure to hurry!" the man said, and the President dismissively lit the way for him so he could find Rimm and hand over his little child. At this point, Rimm was staring at the approaching father and only gaped when the baby was passed into her hands.

After that, she did not register that the guard was given the flashlight by the President, nor that the guard and the flashlight then left in a hurry. The only thing that existed was the terrifying, living, fragile, though still sleeping infant that she was holding at an arms length. She had never tried babysitting before. No, that wasn't right... She had looked after Zack a few times. And he had made her life difficult in so many ways, with _so _many pranks. Also, the few times she had actually tried _holding _babies, it ended up screaming as if there were no tomorrow. That happened every time. Without exceptions. Every time.

Babies just _really_ didn't like her.

Then the room was lit. She first thought the lights were back on, but that wasn't the case. In the palm of his hand, Sephiroth held a small flame.

"_President Shinra!_"

The source of the high-pitched voice ran into the room, followed by three others. All of them carried flashlights and sported suits. They were the Turks; Elena first, then Reno, Rude and the boss himself; Tseng. The latter was surprisingly calm when he spoke up.

"We have secured the exits. Some of the 1st Class Soldiers volunteered to open the doors that the Shinra employees could not open on their own. None of the doors will suffer extensive damage. After the power returns, all guards, Soldier members and employees will resume their duties."

Tseng's words were not registered by Rimm, whose arms were starting to hurt from holding the baby at a distance like. Despite her current predicament, she _did_ sense a presence consisting solely of what she assumed was _suppressed mirth_. Reno was the source, of course.

"...Fine. If you'll excuse me, I am a very busy man. Sephiroth, take those with you when you leave," President Shinra said, gesturing with a hand in Rimm's direction.

_Busy?_ With what?

Rimm slowly moved the baby - Terran, as the electricity guard had called her - closer until her head rested on Rimm's shoulder. After propping her up a little, she followed Sephiroth. Or rather the flame in Sephiroth's palm. He walked slowly, leaving the President's office with no other words. He walked swiftly, but slowly, so as not to make Rimm stumble in the dark. The flame in his hand flared, and sometimes grew to twice its original size, but it never wandered out of its caster's grip. There was no sound coming from it, no calm, crackling sound of the small fire. The only thing she could hear was the sound of his shifting leather clothes and her own shuffling steps. Somehow it managed to put her at ease. Despite everything that had happened today. She wasn't exaclty _content_, but she was at least beginning to relax.

The only things that mattered were those within the range of the light of the flame. That was how it felt.

"Where to?" he asked, his voice quiet. To her it sounded a little tedious as well, but that didn't matter. The calm atmosphere remained with them.  
"...What about the lounge? Floor 61?"

They headed down several sets of stairs towards the big room, never moving faster, nor slowing down on the way. Even before getting there, they heard voices. Employees occupied the whole parlor, and no seats were left. It was noisy - filled with people talking to pass time and find out why, exactly, the blackout hadn't ended yet. Small candles and one or two flashlights lit parts of the room. When Sephiroth walked inside with his now growing flame, however, it became much easier for the nearby people to see where they stepped and who exactly it was they were talking with. Whispers carried through the crowd when the tall, unmistakable man came to a halt, scouting the lounge for a place Rimm could watch Terran. For a second she felt touched, and overwhelmingly so, by the fact that he was helping her. Then she mentally slapped herself. He was doing this because he felt he had to.

Rimm followed in his wake, and didn't even get half as much attention as the silver-haired General.

In the end they settled next to the two parallel glass elevators. That way, once the power was on again and the guard came back up using one of the two lifts, he would spot his baby on the way. If he didn't spot his daughter, at least he would see Sephiroth.

Rimm leaned against the wall and slid to the floor tardily, still holding Terran in her arms. She didn't know what to do if the baby woke up. She didn't have diapers nearby, and not food either. She couldn't sing, and had no clue how to entertain Terran without making her cry.

For now she would just sit still and not wake her up.

"Is she awake?" she asked Sephiroth, just to be sure.  
He stood still for a moment, then stepped closer until he stood close enough to see the face of the baby, holding the flame at a safe distance. Rimm stiffened when he slowly crouched.

"...She is."

Her breathing stopped. If Terran started screaming and she wasn't able to stop her, she'd be laughing stock for weeks. Her nickname would be _'the horribly inexperienced person who makes babies cry and who will never be able to live up to her mother'_, and from then on all mothers, pregnant women and gentlemen would take detours not to meet her.

Jade eyes locked with hers. They were like flames, only jade green instead of cadmium orange. She looked back with wide, gray eyes, temporarily stunned. He was not really close to her, but the distance between them was certainly _not_ _huge._ It flustered her.

"Do you not know how to handle her?" he inquired, almost taunting her with his words. The tiniest of smirks occupied his face. That didn't make her feel any better. Most of all, she wanted to sqeak as a reply, but resisted. She had a feeling that her eyes would pop out, and pressed her head into the cement wall behind her to create some distance. Without success.

"You're right." What a pitiful voice. Then again, she was in a pitiful, rattled state, so it was only natural.

Sephiroth sighed and rose to his feet again. His breath hit her face, instantly making her wonder what the heck he ate for it have such a fresh scent. In _comparison,_ _her_ throat held the stench of 174629 year old onions. In her opinion. She really hoped it was only in her opinion.

* * *

The look on her face was quite amusing; Wide eyes, with the corners of her mouth turning down.

While he observed the two in silence, Terran made some alarming sounds. In turn, Rimm paled considerably and moved the infant closer and cradled it in her arms. The big, brown eyes of the infant girl were fixed on the woman who held her. It was fascinating how much emotion was visible in those young orbs. Curiosity, suspicion, admiration and even mild fear. Anything but indifference. Then the eyes widened a little more and the barely grown eyebrows sloped. Terran's mouth opened and a tiny sound emerged.

"No, no, please don't cry!" Rimm said in an equally small voice, her shoulders hunched. Sephiroth was about to squat down again, but stopped when he glanced at the others in the room. What he saw was bemusing and disturbing at the same time; _everyone_ looked in their direction with expectant faces. No one talked. Wearing an expression of unconcern, yet twitching vigorously on the inside, he turned to watch the glass elevators with feigned interest.

"I'm not going to sing, I don't have diapers and even though I'm starting to get hungry, I don't have any food myself," Rimm explained shakily. He guessed she already knew the baby wouldn't understand, but perhaps Terran managed to pick up a few words, at least. Like _not_, _don't_ and _food._

"Besides, you had your chance to burp when you used my shoulder as a pillow." ...Did she know more than she let on? Perhaps. Or perhaps not.  
"And I'm cradling you and all. Don't babies like the feeling of slight pressure around them? Since they've spent nine months inside a womb?" she continued, sounding like she was comforting herself rather than Terran. Perhaps... she truly did know more than she let on.

Then the lights returned.

"Ouch..." Rimm muttered, squinting. Chatter broke out among the employees. Now able to see normally, Terran waved her arms excitedly. To be quite frank, Sephiroth was pleased she hadn't started crying. Then Rimm would never forgive him for having brought her along to babysit. Now, if only Terran's father would come back soon, things would turn back to normal.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, during which the infant had pulled Rimm's hair and reached for Sephiroth's numerous times, her father arrived at the right floor. He thanked them, saying that his friend had finally arrived to fill in for him. Also, he said something about having returning to the President's office to search for them, but without results. It had taken him a while to find the right floor. Sephiroth could not care less; He already knew this. He had seen the man pass by in the lift earlier. By the time he and his daughter left Sephiroth and Rimm, most of the other employees were already gone.

Rimm was standing next to him with her arms at an odd angle, as if cradling an invisible baby.

"Do you miss her?"  
"_No!_ ...Ah, sorry... But _no._ My arms are just aching." Sephiroth smirked when she shook her arms vigorously, as if trying to get her circulation going again.

The two stopped and watched each other for some seconds - Rimm wearing a wary expression, whereas he displayed light wonder - both at loss about what to do next. She was the first to speak.  
"I'll head home now. Good luck with your paperwork." For once, the smile she offered him was genuine, even if it was hesitant and she wavered somewhat.

* * *

**R.R.**  
Hurr, hurr.


	11. Fever, Delusion and Stains

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. Too bad for me.

Don't skip paragraphs or sentences. (if you're in a hurry, save some reading for later, hm?) Thank you _so much_(!) for the reviews, those of you who did! :)  
**I update every day, but I get a little sad when few people review...** Is this story not good..?

* * *

Fever, Delusion and Stains

* * *

Autumn had only barely arrived, but she had somehow managed to get a cold already. She didn't want to a source of contamination, so the most convenient thing to do would be to call in sick. But that wasn't possible, because no one could step in for her at the time being. She had to work even if she was ill. What if she breathed a horde of bacteria-stuff and viruses and infected the food? She'd be_ fired_ if they found out it was _her!_ ...Well, perhaps not, but people could get really annoyed. Or maybe she was - as usual - overreacting.

Either way, the best and most logical solution would be to use medicine, cough drops, drink warm chocolate, wear warm clothes and cover her mouth. She had a small mask from before, but she had never used it. It looked like the ones nurses in hospitals wore.

But she looked absolutely ridiculous wearing it. She could already imagine what Reno would say...

"_AH! It's a NURSE! Look, ebulliboddy!" _Okay, perhaps not with those exact words, but he'd make a big deal of it anyway.

That was what she had thought at first. However, after a night with not much sleep, her headache had disappeared completely, as if by magic, and was exchanged with a light-headed sensation that made her feel quite... indifferent. Indifferent and calm. All well. Maybe her cold was getting better. So what if she looked weird with the mask? It simply hid the lower part of her face, including her nose and her jaw. If she wore a hat, the only things visible would be her eyes and her hair.

Perhaps she should add even more to it than only the mask? Some other clothes, perhaps? It could work out.

_Yeah..._

She had a Shinra uniform that she hadn't used yet. It was voluntary, after all. The blue full-body suit had many pockets, but it was a little big. Rimm put it on anyway, smiling while she did. The white mask fit, too. She felt oddly warm, but her hands and feet were cold. Brushing it off as a combination between the mask and her lack of sleep, she stopped to have a look in the mirror. It couldn't be a fever. She felt _better,_ after all, and her throat didn't hurt any more. She squinted while looking in the mirror, thinking something was missing. The shoes she wore were white, too, like the mask. She hardly ever used them. White shoes and mask, blue suit. It all matched.

Perhaps she could...

Smirking giddily, Rimm dug into her closet and found a big, yet tight-fitting hat - which was also white - and put it on. Then she stuffed her hair up into it, making sure nothing showed. After shaking her head and securing her hair several times, she pulled the small brim of the hat down so her eyes were hardly visible at all. As long as she kept her eyes hidden, the only thing that would give her away was her trolley. That was a problem she hadn't solved just yet. Figuring she would get time to solve it later, she woozily went for the door.

Then she hurried to work, vaguely wondering who would recognize her and who wouldn't - while taking childish pleasure in how her feet felt remarkably light compared to the rest of her body. She felt like she was floating, and made no attempts to hide she enjoyed it.

* * *

It was almost past lunch-time when his door opened. The woman was a sight to behold, despite her obvious attempt at being anonymous. With downcast eyes, hidden by the brim of the white hat, the masked woman walked closer and places the lunch box on his desk. Then she gave a tiny bow, or actually a nod, and turned to leave.

"What are you doing?"

Sephiroth, despite feeling somewhat perturbed, knew it was Rimm. Even before she opened the door, he had known who it was. Whether it was instinct, intuition or only a hunch, there was no way to tell. He simply knew. The second she walked through the door, he had also been able to tell that her body temperature was higher than it should be, and that there was a slim chance she was delirious. The mask protected others from the same fate, though. Rimm turned to him, hiding a sway as she did, her eyes watching him from the shadow of the hat brim. Or so he thought - he couldn't see them. If she was really looking in his general direction at all, there was a chance she was looking at the desk and not himself.

"I'm not sure, Rapunzel, but don't tell Ariel. He'll spread rumors saying that _'the horrible person who makes babies cry'_ is currently disguised as an evil nurse in a blue car-mechanic's suit," she said through the mask, her words slurred. Sephiroth suppressed a bemused frown.

She was _definitely_ delirious. Just how high was her fever? He guessed this... _Ariel_ character was Reno, but... Rapunzel? Why did she call _him_ _Rapunzel_, of all names..?

"You have a fever."

"...No, no, no. I have a _cold._"

Sephiroth exhaled slowly, without a sound, and got up from his chair. After taking his time to walk around his desk and past the slowly shrinking mountains of paperwork that accompanied it, he stopped in front of Rimm and pulled off her white hat. Her hair fell down past her shoulders and her fringes stopped at her cheekbones. Some loose strands hung in front of her forehead. As he thought, her eyes were dull and half-open. They seemed grayer than usual. Or was that merely himself imagining things?

He did not have time for this. He had paperwork to-...  
..._Paperwork?_ Since when was paperwork important? He would simplye have to get around to it later.

Putting a gloved hand on her forehead, under her stray hair, he frowned in concentration.

"...That's almost forty degrees." She should not be walking about, much less _work.  
_"Huh?" The mask made her voice sound muffled.

"Go home." _Rest._  
"That's okay. I'm done for the day, so I'll be heading home soon."

She pulled down her mask and took a deep breath. Her cheeks were burning. Then she gave him a chuckle and a broad, perhaps also delirious smile before putting her mask back in place with a finger. With a cheerful expression gracing her features she turned on her heel and left. The door closed behind her quietly. The red shade that had colored her cheeks was frozen in his mind's eye for a moment, and he stood quite still before it finally took its leave.

Left behind, Sephiroth looked down at the white cap in his hand.  
What now? He would have to return it.

* * *

So she had a fever? That explained a few things. Now that he mentioned it, she _did_ feel a little unusual. But not _ill. _Either way she should get home before Reno found her. She had been lucky until now.

Shuffling down the corridor with her empty trolley in a more or less disoriented manner, Rimm didn't pay any attention to the people who passed her. Some looked at her curiously, while others smiled with sympathy, knowing that her mask meant she was ill. Speaking of which, since she had a fever and not a cold, could she pull down the mask? It should be safe. She could take it off after leaving the trolley. Satisfied with her decision, Rimm rode the normal elevators - not the glass ones - down to the kitchen. Unlike the keycard-requiring glass lifts, which went all the way from the 1st to the 70th floor (or at least 69th), the _normal_ elevators 'only' operated between 1st and 59th floor, for security reasons. The normal ones were always filled to their limits, though. It was a miracle there was enough room for her. But still, at this rate, she'd get home in no time.

After leaving the trolley in the kitchen, however, she noticed that her _hat_ was nowhere to be found.

And because of this she went all the way back up again, this time using the stairs.

"Holy..." she muttered to herself, removing her mask in annoyance at her own exertion, letting it hang from around her neck. Her knees were shaking. How embarrassing! She was losing energy too fast. Well, it was always like that, only not _this much_. Still, she usually recovered quite fast. This time was an exception. She was dead tired and wasn't about to recuperate any time soon. Rimm vaguely wondered if that was bad for her fever. Was that a silly thing to wonder about?

As if on cue, a red-headed Turk exited a door in the same corridor as her, then he went in the other direction, not seeing her. The last thing she wanted was for him to make fun of her fever. Or to make a big fuss of it. A very small part of her consciousness asked why she was suddenly thinking so negatively of the Turk, but the thought was consumed by her fever, evaporating it before it came to the surface of her mind.

The only thing on her mind at the moment was to get out of sight before the goggle-wearing male Ariel detected her.

...And since a storeroom was so conveniently placed right next to her, but also because the corridor was too long and empty for her to hide elsewhere, Rimm opened the door and stepped in among the buckets. Washy, ragged cloths were in messy piles in paper boxes and buckets, and old sweeping brooms were supporting newer cleaning mops. Spray boxes and other chemicals were either behind the piled buckets or _in_ them, hiding under the cloths and sponges. It smelled of something strong that she couldn't quite recognize. At least it was clean.

Anyway, she wouldn't have to stay for long. The only light source was the vent on the lower half of the door - she could look outside if she wanted to, to find out when Reno wasn't there anymore.

Sliding down the wall closest to her(and feeling her tired body thank her for it), she peeked out for any sign of black-clothed legs, a manly gait and red hair. She knew Reno would come back this way, because his office was in this direction. It was only a matter of time until he strode by, and after he was out of sight, she could leave. No, not leave, but go fetch her hat from Sephiroth's office, _then_ leave. The suspension was already making her dizzy. Or perhaps _that_ was the fever's doing, too. She heard footsteps already. Manlike footsteps. They sounded like the person knew where he was going. Once the legs were in her field of vision(she was looking sideways at the person who came walking down the corridor), Rimm narrowed her eyes.

Black-clothed legs, check.

Manly, slightly glide-like gait, check.

Red hair...

Rimm tried looking up, and was rewarded with a the sight of silver hair as the man passed by the storage room. She almost hiccuped at that.  
Red hair, _not _check. Rapunzel?

The swift strides came to a halt not too far past the narrow door. Then she watched the legs as they turned around, walked back, and stopped in front of the door behind which she was hiding. If the long boots were any closer, she would have been able to smell the leather. Probably. Either way, her mind was much too busy for her to be react or be surprised when he opened the door and looked down at her. Or perhaps her mind wasn't busy at all, but her head was still working on something. Hopefully she found find out what she was thinking soon.

"What are you doing in here?" As if she didn't see _that_ question coming. Or... perhaps... she really _hadn't_...

"Hiding from Ari-... Ah, _Reno_..." She needed to come to her senses. But she couldn't quite find them.

* * *

"_Ariel_ is not here. Why would you be hiding from him?" he asked, looking down at her. She shielded her eyes from the light outside with an arm, thus making it impossible to see her face while she still sat on the floor. She looked like a lost child in many ways.

"I... don't..." she started, barely audible even to him.  
"You do not know," he stated for her.

"_Remember_. I know, but I don't... _remember_..." she mumbled, her voice carrying a tiny tint of anger.

Sephiroth handed the white cap to her, and she accepted it with a forlorn expression. Then he took hold of her wrists and gently tugged at them for her to rise to her feet. She tried, but her knees wobbled and she stopped before she got half way. It was a pitiful sight. Giving an inaudible sigh(which he tended to to quite often as of late), he crouched down in front of her and took hold around her upper arms, close to her shoulders. Then, watching her dumbfounded expression and her fleeing eyes, he pulled her to her feet. He made sure she could stand on her own before letting go.

"...How did you find me?" she asked, shaking her head a little.

"Instinct." ...True enough.

The face she made next was completely uncalled for. With fever running in her body it should be expected, but still, seeing such strong admiration in her eyes struck him off guard. What had he said again? ...Was it 'instinct'? Was that something that impressed her? Her mouth was only barely agape, and her cheeks still carried the flush that her fever brought with it.

It _annoyed _him. Why? Because it made her look like a child. That naïve innocence did not suit the boastful, rude, overly expressive and skeptical Rimm he recalled. He still watched her, waiting for the stupid expression to wear off, but it only lasted longer.

The sound of steps woke him up.

A quick glance in the direction it came from told him that the person was right around the corner. If he were not mistaken, the gait belonged to Reno of the Turks. That was a dilemma. Not only did Rimm hide from the man, but if she was seen with _Sephiroth_, Reno would be sure to spread word of it. Such matters were rarely a problem to him, but it was still troublesome. And he'd had enough of the bothersome things that kept happening to him today.

So he stepped into the storage room next to Rimm and closed the door without a sound.

Even in the dark, he could see her. Leaning against the wall on her own with a confused look, she glanced between the door and where she thought he was standing. There was plenty of room, but the cleaning mops and buckets were in the way nonetheless. Reno had better hurry past them. If he did see them, he would _never _let Sephiroth and Rimm forget it. Ever. What a disastrous bother it would be... To be found in a closet - with a lunch deliverer. _Everybody _would misinterpret the situation, and gravely so.

Rimm frowned and sighed, her eyes drooping more frequently. Come to think of it, she had done that earlier as well.

"Do not faint," he said, knowing Reno was not close enough to hear. But his footsteps were approaching fast.

"...I'll _never_ faint! ...I haven't fainted once in my... my entire life!" she said as loud as she could manage, which was not really that loud at all in her condition. She was probably standing upright using willpower alone. Either way, this display of her _usual_ behavior relieved him. The way she acted earlier was just annoying. With her regaining some of her old self, he found himself wishing to start some sort of discussion with her, to make sure she did not lose herself again. He wanted to talk with her.

"Then, what about the fifteen years you spent in the labs? I doubt you were conscious."

As if by a horrible cioncidence, his choice of words hit a fatal weak point. For a brief moment he felt like he had tarnished her stainless record. The deep frown and her wide eyes carried a look of both disbelief and disapproval, but instead of gaping like a fool, her mouth resembled a thin line with a slight curve downwards in each end. That face, however, was very soon replaced with a look of utter defeat.

"Haa..." She looked completely sapless. Her will was drained, taking what was left of her strength with it.

Then he heard Reno walk past the door. At the same time, Rimm's frown faded from her face and she surrendered to gravity. She was going down - literally.

It only took his mind a millisecond to analyze his options. If he did not stop her fall, she would hit the buckets and whatnot, creating noise that would startle Reno, who was still not out of hearing range. Also, if he did not catch her, she could get hurt in one way or another. But he was still reluctant to stop her. It was not something that could be easily explained. In his mind's eye, their friendship had started growing back. He did not wish to defile that image by putting his hands all over her, even if it was to stop her from falling. Why..? Because his hands were that of a slayer. If he were to use them, they would slowly, gradually, leave stains not even the most trained of eyes could see. He had already assisted her to her feet once today. No - he had even touched her forehead to measure her temperature. These were both occurrences that had left him bitter. Bitter at having allowed himself to venture as far as to touch her without giving her a chance to refuse.

But Reno would find them at this rate. And Rimm could get injured. Which was worse; Stains that were not visible to one's eyes, or physical wounds?

As one millisecond turned into several milliseconds, Sephiroth found himself replying said question by moving forward and down. Frowning, he seized her shoulders before she fell all the way down to the floor. But his reluctance made him hold back to the point where his grip proved to be too loose, and she slipped out of his hands. Before she tumbled completely, he moved his arms again and locked his elbows under her shoulders, temporarily stopping her without touching her with the stained hands of his. Her head hung forward limply - any closer and she would be touching him. Both of them were on their knees, which made it all right for him to loosen his grip. In such a situation... had it been foolish of him to even consider not catching her? ...To _him,_ whenever he saw his Masamune, he felt its absence in his hands - an uncomfortable _absence_ of _a weapon with which he had killed_.

Wutai.

Such sounded the name that was brought to mind by this manner of useless thinking. And despite _Wutai _being a harmless word, it brought him anguish - it was something that would never cease to render him regretful. People believed they understood. Yet, despite what they though, the war could not described with something as simple as the words 'our win'. There was a reason the war had lasted for five years. For one, during the endless battles he had fought and organized, several of his men had died. He had watched them charge towards the enemies and opponents, some too early and others too late, many losing limbs on the way. And the distance between himself and them was too great - he had heard them cry for his assistance numerous times; They had screamed for help and had shouted that they _knew _he was listening, and their voices had been so frightened and anguished. And some were already beyond help, even when he pulled them to safety. Many of those in pain screamed and cursed so loudly - knowing they couldn't be helped, and watching their own bodies evaporate in clouds of pyreflies - and this had forced Sephiroth to shorten their lives. Not only to stop their suffering(as his coldly uttered lie and excuse had been), but to stop their loud voices from carrying to the enemy and thus revealing their exact position.

To add to this, Soldiers under his command were not always sure why they fought, and those who knew the reason often disagreed. As such, many tried to desert. For cases such as this, Shinra had a single troop of men who were to shoot and kill all who attempted to desert. Yet, what to do when the men of this troop became unable to perform their duties? When even men with their strength and mental endurance attempted to abandon, what else was expected of Sephiroth - as General - to do than _kill_ them on his own? Such was the truth; He had not only killed enemies, but allies, people who carried in their pockets letters for and pictures of their parents - mother and father - and their siblings, friends and beloved ones. Men who had admired him greatly, and who wanted nothing less than to meet those important to them. Sephiroth had slayed them before they saw him do it - but his other men had watched in stunned silence and fear, no doubt. Some of those he killed were close comrades of his remaining men. All Sephiroth could offer was for them to take care of the belongings of the fallen ones. And he had constantly questioned himself whether it had been right. The entire war.

Hence, with such tarnished hands and stained hands, how could he possibly dare to allow himself to reach out for Rimm so easily?  
Gritting his teeth, Sephiroth frowned as if to rid himself of the reverie he was in. He needed to pay attention.

Reno had stopped. Sephiroth could feel it.

And he stepped back. There was a chance he would come back. Had he heard something? Come to think of it, his agile movement could have been loud. Yet, he could have sworn he tried to avoid making sounds.  
None of them moved. Perhaps Reno was only taking a break to read papers or something of the like. Meanwhile, Sephiroth had to endure and stay silent. He had to persist.

Reno's presence slowly started fading again as the Turk left, letting Sephiroth release the breath he was not aware he had been holding. Rimm's hair billowed a little. What to do next? He could not just leave her there. There was an infirmary in the building. He could take her there.

"_What is it?" the young Sephiroth asked in his usual way; slightly annoyed on the outside, curious on the inside.  
_"_Do you think I can go see the scientists and ask them to help me see colors?" she asked, wearing a frown that looked curious and demanding at the same time._

"_...It would probably be better to go to a doctor or a hospital." he said.  
_"_But I can't afford that..." Rimm continued, making a grumpy face.  
_

That was right... There was no infirmary back then. If it had been, would things have ended differently?

Noticing, although not for the first time, how warm she was, he lowered her until she sat on her legs. He let one arm hold around her back to support her, knitting his fist while doing so, and used the other to tilt her head up. She was unconscious, but her eyes were just _barely _open. Her cheeks were redder than before; They did not have long to go before they would put even Scarlet's dress to shame. He could tell without checking that her fever had increased since before.

Not good. His fault?

He should never have taken that hat off her in the first place. The responsibility rested on himself - This left him feeling bitter; Vexed at himself for having removed her cap in the first place. As such, it was his duty to make sure she was tended to. How to get her to the infirmary? ...Carrying her on his back, or bridal style?

Scowling, he inhaled deeply and chose the option involving lesser body contact, and scooped her up. Holding her at half an arm's length, which to any onlooker might seem odd, he opened the door. Not a soul was there. A sudden thought struck him, reminding him that _he_ was holding her the same way _she_ had held that little baby; Terran. He was indeed holding her as if she could break any second.

With peaked senses he moved at rushing speed down the corridor and down the stairs. There were people, yes, but all they would see was a flash that looked a little like himself. They would ignore it and believe it was only a trick of light - or in the worst case scenario only tell others that they had caught a glimpse of him. Sephiroth only hoped no Turks or 1st Class Soldiers were nearby, as they would undoubtedly recognize the flash as something more than only an illusion or a gust. His fists were clenched to a degree physically impossible for anyone other than himself, but they were at the very least not touching Rimm. She lay immobile, her mask hanging loose at her neck and her hat placed on her stomach, held in place by one of her arms.

It was like this he arrived at the infirmary floor. Still moving at the speed of sound, or very close at least, so as not to be seen and let other misinterpret the situation, he left Rimm on a free sofa and rang the bell at the currently untended reception desk. By now, Rimm was in a serious condition. They would surely spot her even if he was not here to explain. Narrowing his eyes at how oddly vulnerable Rimm looked without her usual beanie, he found himself wondering if she wore that kind of headgear to make herself look - in a sense - _tougher._ Had Rimm by chance always worn it intently?

Hearing people hurry closer to check who rang the bell, Sephiroth left for his office unspotted.

* * *

**R.R.**  
Nuuu! Sephiroth! A _real _gentleman would _stay!_ A friend would stay, too!


	12. Rufus and Gongaga

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

...This is for you, guys, thank you _so much_ for the encouragement! (and sorry for getting all whiny and... yeah. Let's not make negative words spoil this. I suppose I was a little silly...) Anyway, I'm back(hehah, as if I was gone at all), and I'm all good!

Oh my... This chapter was late. Eheh... Sorry...

* * *

Rufus and Gongaga

* * *

Today was her first day back in business after her fever. A few even welcomed her back. Rimm wasn't really happy about it, as she couldn't quite figure out if their greetings were because they missed _her_ or suffered from lack of _lunch_. No one had stepped in for her, either. That meant most of the higher-ups had had to go to the cafeteria for lunch. No wonder the the employees looked happy. They got to see their superiors more often. But the big-wigs themselves... Was there a chance she could get fired? For being sick? ...No. Who would deliver lunch then? ...Not everyone could be trusted enough to be given a keycard to certain floors.

"Morning."

At the moment, she was in Sephiroth's office. She chose to come to him first today, and save the angrier people for later. Perhaps seeing him would strengthen her some. In some weird way. That, and she needed him to answer a question. Sephiroth, upon being greeted, looked up with slight surprise(which could be feigned, for all she knew). Then he put his pen down and placed his gloved hands on the desk.

"Good morning," he replied, watching as she placed the lunch box in front of him.  
Now for her question - and with it, an obvious change of object. Before she cowered out.

"I had a fever. The last thing I remember seeing was you, so... do you know how I got to the infirmary?" Straight to the case.  
"Yes. I carried you there." ...He reply was straight to the point, too.

Rimm just looked, her eyes wide and eyebrows arched, but she kept her mouth shut. He searched her with jade eyes for a verbal reaction, while looking completely unaffected by her expression. She was thankful for that.

"...Okay. Thanks. I apparently needed it." That was what he wanted her to say, right?  
He still didn't move, but his face chanced a little and he looked at her with what she believed was _boredom._

It hit a nerve fairly fast.

"How come you always smirk and act so comfortably around the other 1st Class Soldiers, and never around me? You used to before. Is it because I'm not strong enough, or because I'm not a man?"

No sign of a reaction of any sort.  
_Oh no. Bad. She went too far? Very bad. Stupid, foolish Rimm. Death awaits. Death by shame.  
_

"...I would be able to do so more easily if you were able to relax in my presence, and also if you were able to avoid trouble." Good. At least he wasn't angry. And he had given her an honest answer.

"I don't get into trouble on purpose - it just happens. I didn't lure that fiend to me on the field day, for example. Besides, the fiend was weak and the wound wasn't serious." It _could_ have been, but it wasn't. She could also have chosen to sleep elsewhere, not too close to the very edge of the camp. So... in the end, it _was_ her fault no matter what she said.  
"And the fever... It wasn't my fault..." Sure, she went to work when she shouldn't have, but she didn't realize she was ill. Which was stupid. Besides, she had went _back_ to the upper floors of Shinra HQ to get something. She couldn't remember what, though. She'd had her mask and her cap when she woke up. What else was there to get?

Sephiroth was now looking at her with something that could possibly, perhaps, _maybe _be interest. That was enough for her to continue.

"The lab incident that lasted for fifteen years was not my fault. It was my _economy's_ fault." Even though she could have chosen to be less greedy. Hospital fees weren't _that_ big. She should have chosen not to go to the scientists. So that, too, was her fault.  
The vague sign of interest in Sephiroth's eyes was now turning into amusement. It was only a matter of time before he was going to smirk. It was better than nothing - she was on a roll.

"And insomnia! I have no idea where I got it. Is it inheritable? If it is, then it's not my fault." Her voice was growing louder and more confident as she continued. It was like having a noisy discussion with herself, which was more entertaining to others than she knew herself. Still, her subconsciousness had come to a nasty conclusion: Most of the bad situations she got into _were_ indeed her own fault, in one way or another. She was sure Sephiroth knew. And he had simply waited - from the beginning - for her to realize on her own.

"...Never mind. I get the picture. I'll be careful. Enjoy the lunch." He was always right. That meant she should do anything he said. He was probably ten times smarter than her, anyway. Obeying his orders would hopefully let her be infected with at least a tiny fraction of the same intelligence.

* * *

By the time she had successfully (though barely) survived her entire lunch delivery route, her ears were about to fall off. Scarlet had yelled at her, the President had lectured her, Palmer had given her a speech about food and its extreme importance and Heidegger had threatened to lambast her with a cane. Reeve and Tseng were more delicate; Tseng because he knew her somewhat(through Reno and Rude), and Reeve because he was just like that. Thank goodness she didn't have to serve food to Hojo anymore. He had apparently started making lunch for himself. She didn't want to know what he ate, though. The others had been fairly kind, considering the circumstances.

Only one person to go. Rufus, the son of President Shinra. The eagle in the swallow nest. The alpha male of the wolf pack. The cheetah among the turtles... In other words; The man on the top of the food chain. Or economy chain. Or something.

She was in his office.  
It was going quite well so far, actually, because she had _already _placed the box on his desk, but he was simply too busy complaining to a secretary to notice Rimm. All she had to do now was leave. While doing so, however, she couldn't help but hear their bickering.

"Costa del Sol is old news. Too many people, too warm, too many photographers..."

"What about the Gold Saucer?"  
"The Gold Saucer does not sound tempting. Too loud. That place is for boisterous kids and people whose mid-life crises exceed other mid-life crises by far. Also, paparazzi photographers hide inside every costume in there. I will not fall pray to them."

"...Then, what about Wutai, or Icicle Inn? It can be arranged-"  
"Wutai is a graveyard. Icicle Inn... too cold."

Rimm was just heading out of the room when Rufus turned to her and stopped her with what might as well have been a psychic energy attack - in the shape of a dangerously sharp stare. A stare that she felt on her back even though she wasn't facing him.

"_You._"

"...Yes? ...Me?" she said, resisting her urge to swallow as she looked over her shoulder, her shoulders a little hunched.  
"You haven't been here for a while. I had to use other methods to get lunch. Things were troublesome."

"So sorry..."

"I assume you had a good reason?" It sounded more like a demand than a question.  
"I had a high fever," she said, unable to hold his eyes.

The room fell silent for some seconds. Rufus seemed to be contemplating something, and while he did, Rimm felt forced to turn around and face him.

"...I will forget about this unfortunate matter _if_ _you_ can tell me about a place that is calm, not too cold or too warm, with no photographers and no journalists, but still has access to electricity and appealing surroundings.

"Gongaga."

Her reply was so quick and automatic that yet another silence ensued. No one spoke - Rimm's eyes glanced between Rufus and his secretary, who both perceived her with something between suspicion and wonder.

Then Rufus took a piece of paper and a seemingly horribly expensive pen, and started writing. Was he firing her? Was her answer too blunt? The secretary peeked at the paper, but Rufus almost literally snapped it away from her, then held it out in Rimm's direction. The annoyance was clear in his eyes when she hesitated. For a moment she felt like a tiny herring in the presence of a shark-sized fangtooth fish. She had seen it on television once. It made goosebumps the size of fish eyes appear on her back.

"Take it and leave before I arrange it so that you be fired."

At that, she let go of her trolley and rushed over to him, then her arm snapped forward and grabbed it, and she jerked back. While hastily leaving the room she was tempted to speed up her escape by jumping onto her trolley and let it roll at the highest possible speed _to_ and _through_ the door. Resisting her urge she left on foot, taking the trolley with her as she left, and once she was outside the room she breathed in all the air she had failed to inhale the last thirty seconds. Once she was completely safe - in one of the glass elevators - she read the note.

_You know where Gongaga is. Deliver this to Tseng, and be ready to leave tomorrow morning at noon._

...Huh? What?

* * *

More than a day later, the chopper landed outside the forests surrounding Gongaga.

Four persons entered said forest not much later.

One was the pilot, who wore goggles and baggy, worn clothes. He occasionally mentioned that his greatest idol was a pilot from Rocket Town, but this was not really a fact that the others were likely to remember. The second person was Rimm, who wore loose-fitting, black dungarees and a white tank top for the occasion. The dungaree straps hung down at her hips loosely. She wore no hat, and kept thinking about how she regretted it. She desperately needed something to hide her deepening frown. Never before had she felt her nerves rebel like they were doing today. She hadn't slept at all tonight. She was going _home_ for the first time in more than sixteen years, and there was no longer any way for her to keep postponing the visit. Because of Rufus. Should she thank him?

Rufus sported his usual attire; White clothes, gun holster _with _a gun, and an arrogant smirk. There wasn't really much to say about him. He played out the role as the son of the President as badly (intently) as he could manage at the moment. Rimm doubted his father knew _anything_ about this little outing. Rufus was a rebel, but a smart one.

The last person was Rufus' guard. He was here unwillingly, despite the fact that his paperwork was finally finished and he should be enjoying his time off back in Midgar. The only reason he had given in was because Tseng and his Turks were busy, just like the other Soldiers who were 'fit for the task'. His silver hair had proven to be quite an annoyance during the chopper flight, and even after they landed, some of it was captured by the air currents. Despite the silence coming from both Sephiroth and Rufus, Rimm had a strong feeling they were competing. Both of them made sure their energy could be felt by the other. Like two particularly powerful fiends. It was surprising they hadn't used spells on each other yet. They just didn't like each other. That was how she felt, and she was pretty sure she was right - considering she had been sitting in between them on the flight here. That hadn't exactly lessened er anxiousness.

"Show the way," Rufus ordered, giving no room for objection.

Although extremely unwillingly, Rimm walked ahead and chose the largest path she could see, struggling to walk casually instead of dragging her feet. She had no idea what would be awaiting her at the end of the road.

Gongaga was her home. Whether or not the people there would remember her, she didn't know. Her parents could be dead. Before her _'lab incident', _her father had worked as a low-ranked member of Soldier and had earned just enough to lead a decent life. The leftovers were sent to her mother who lived all the way back here, in Gongaga. Because her mother was quite stubborn and nature-loving, she never visited the polluted Midgar. She had still sent letters every now and then(whenever she was lucky enough to find someone who was willing to deliver it for her, because Gongaga had no such thing as a mail office or mail deliverer), asking when Rimm and her dad were going to come visit. About the time Rimm went to the labs(where she would stay for fifteen years), her father had left to visit her mother for a while. After not hearing from her, what had they done?

...Waited?

Her father was old enough to be retired by now. She doubted he was dead, though, that just wasn't like him. Her mother, on the other hand... She could be dead... But she could also be waiting behind the door, like in the old days, with that old rolling pin in her hand. Then she'd say she would give Rimm a beating - which was a lie every time. She... had better be there. She had better be alive.

"You." The voice startled her.

"What?!" she asked, turning around in bewilderment. The pilot was the source of the voice. He carried Rufus' few bags, which were small, but apparently heavy. She hurried over to relieve him of at least one of the burdens, and barely managed to suppress an utterance of surprise when the small suitcase turned out to be at least thrice as heavy as she had thought it would be. That could also be because she was tired, though.

* * *

About half an hour later, they arrived at the entrance of Gongaga. A row of miniature 'mountains' occupied the space on all sides, all of them small enough to be called prominent mounds, at the very least. Little tent-like huts, most of them carrying round roofs covered in grass, were scattered about. Each family had their own garden and seemed to be residing happily in their own favorite corners of the village. A distant surge of falling water was only barely audible from where they were standing. The source of the surge was below the village; There were a few waterfalls there. Though not large in size, they were absolutely stunning. The vivid woodlands that surrounded the village created a sense of detachment from the rest of the world. Despite the fact that their Mako reactor was broken, they managed on their own, thanks to electricity from the rivers.

It was stunning.

It made her feel sick.

"...Gongaga is your hometown," Sephiroth stated. She had told him that once, and was surprised he remembered... And... a little glad, too.  
"How does it feel to return? It has been a while, am I right?"

Rimm looked down towards the little houses. A few were new and unfamiliar. Her parents' house was still there.  
Sephiroth had no hometown that she knew of. Just Midgar. Did that mean he would never feel the joy (or in Rimm's case - pure, agonizing fear) of returning home after a long while of being away? ...But he _had_ been in Wutai. Then he had returned to Midgar. Somehow, that didn't sound like something to be _too_ glad about. Sure, the Wutai War was too horrible for her to fully comprehend, but dusty, gray Midgar with its tall houses and dark clouds... it didn't sound like a _hometown. _Not even a homecity, if something like that existed.

* * *

It took a while before she replied to his inquiry. In fact, she didn't speak before they were almost in the middle of the small village.

"It depends, I think... It'll feel good if things are the way I hope they are."

He wouldn't know. He had no hometown. Still, even though he had never been to Gongaga before(only to the reactor), it felt like the scenery simply opened its arms and waited for them to walk into its embrace and give up on all their worries on the way. It was such a foolishly naïve thought, yet it seemed so obviously true when he stood there and watched the place in person. Rimm spoke up.

"There's no official hotel or inn here, but the people here have made it a tradition to welcome people with open arms. Judging from the looks of the houses and the gardens... I think you, Rufus, Sir, will like that hut the best," Rimm informed, pointing at a particularly good-looking garden with a hut at least twice the size of the others.

Rufus left without a word, and the pilot took back the suitcase Rimm had carried there. Then he followed the President's lead. Sephiroth averted his eyes from Gongaga and watched Rimm, who was spacing out. She looked oblivious to the fact that the suitcase was gone and that she was staring off into the air. It wasn't until the chopper pilot exited the big hut that she shook her head and walked down to meet up with the man again. After a relatively short, effective discussion, the pilot chose another hut and stomped off in an annoyed way, probably because Rufus didn't want him in the same hut as himself. Rimm was left behind, oddly villagers had come outside to see who were coming, and an old lady approached her from behind, but scurried away when she realized she was a little too close. Or perhaps the old woman had recognized her? ...No? Even if that was the case, Rimm, remained still, facing the ground, her fists only lightly clenched.

Finding it best not to stand around(people were looking at him in a manner that could easily be described as rude), Sephiroth strode down to stand beside her.  
"I don't know if Rufus wants you nearby or not... You're _his_ guard on this trip, but he has a gun and all. He's a good shooter, and this is a peaceful village."

Her gray gaze flickered in the direction of the hut he presumed belonged to her parents.  
Inside the hut, he sensed people.

"...Go to your parents." His lenient choice of words made it sound like he spoke to a child. Still, despite the unusually indulgent sound of his voice, Rimm seemed pleased. With a mild smile that wordlessly thanked him and bid him good night, she turned and ran off, as if intending to set things right before she changed her mind; Head first into the storm that perhaps wasn't a storm after all. She trusted him, and despite the fact that she had looked pale since the moment they left Midgar, she had given him a happy, pleased face.

He found himself equally delighted.

* * *

A day passed before Rimm came before him again. They met in the strangest of places, too.

He was training below the village, by the numerous small waterfalls, and Rimm came down, perhaps to see if said waterfalls had changed after so many years. He could tell by the honest surprise in her eyes that she hadn't expected to see him there. Her cheeks were rosy, possibly caused by her spending time with her parents. She looked tired, but he could see no trace of tears. It was quite the opposite, actually; Her eyes radiated with felicity. To _his_ surprise, she wore a long, red strap top and a knee-length skirt; white and billowing. It was quite different from her usual attire. Maybe that was the reason she looked so incredibly uncomfortable.

"Oh, man. I really didn't want you to see this... I really hate this stuff... But mum..." she started, smiling sheepishly while hunching her shoulders a little. Her blush developed into a flush, and her smile was quickly exchanged with a look of bemusing distress. Her mother had made her wear that? ...Why was that _not _surprising?

"Hn," he uttered, smirking as he held back more light chuckles. This only made her eyes widen more, and a look of utter disbelief overcame her, soon to be exchanged by a look of complete satisfaction.

"...Ha! You! _Finally!_" she exclaimed jokingly, almost proudly, while pointing at him. He did not understand what she meant at first, but then remembered a conversation they'd had a couple of days ago. She had complained because he did not act comfortably around her, mentioning among other things that he never smirked when she was nearby. Apparently, seeing him smirk was a victory for her. Was it because she wanted him to act as a friend to her..?

...By the way, were her parents all right? How much had she told them, exactly?

"How are your parents?" he asked, aware he was changing the subject. Speaking of parents... He would not know how it felt for her to reunite with someone such as that. He had none. No one that could be contacted, at least.

"Both of them are doing well. _Dad_ was furious with Shinra, _mum_ was furious with Shinra, and _both_ of them were busy being furious with everyone having anything to do with Shinra. Then I told them the things I know about the lab incident, and they ended up being furious with 'only' Shinra scientists. Dad swore revenge, I said I'd do it for him. Mum waved her rolling pin and said violence would do no good, and told me to outsmart them instead." Rimm sighed while smiling softly. What she had said pretty much summed everything up.

"What did they have to say about your... lengthy stay?" Surely, sixteen years of not seeing their daughter must have influenced them. That question deprived her face of her smile, and he found that he regretted having asked.

"...The years that I've spent away from them... They apparently passed fast. They spent a lot of time trying to search me out. But, since I've barely aged since the last time we met, they were happy they didn't miss out on seeing me grow up and all."

True. They would see her grow up, as if she had never been gone.  
But her parents had aged. _Rimm _was the one who had missed out.

"Anyway... You're training, right? Why not use the waterfalls? Don't strong people stand under waterfalls when they get the chance?"

"You view me as a strong person?" he inquired. She frowned and crossed her arms, her stance quite manly even with her current clothes.  
"Of course. You're not ten times stronger than me. You're more than one hundred times stronger than me." Her words were spoken with blasé indifference. Still, she looked honest.

"Or does Rufus need you to come back soon to guard him, so he can relax?" she added, a slight hint of curiosity in her voice.

"I told him to scream if he needed me. He said nothing, so I left." He could see that she tried suppressing her mirth, but a small grin still escaped her. He doubted Rufus would scream. _Ever_. Rumor said the man had never bled, nor cried, so _screaming_ was surely something he would not let defile his unstained image. Rimm appeared to be aware of this, too.

"My, imagine that guy screaming for help..." she muttered, giving a very lopsided, mischievous smile.

Half a chuckle later, Sephiroth swiftly moved closer to the waterfalls and rid himself of his leather coat and his waterproof boots. He would _not_ dispose of his pants, however. They would have to run dry in the sun afterwards. As for Masamune, he let it rest against a conveniently placed tree trunk close by. Satisfied, he stepped in below the falling water, already relishing in the cool feeling it left when flowing down onto his back and continued running to the ground under his feet. He doubted Rimm could see anything but a vague silhouette in the white, cascading water. Despite the surge that enveloped him, he could discern most of the sounds from around the waterfall.

"Isn't that really cold?!" Rimm shouted, trying to be heard by him. She had no idea how well he could hear her. Smirking, he said nothing.

"I'll pass, though," she added as an afterthought. Good idea. Her clothes were not ideal for waterfall-showering. Her skirt was loose fitting and white, and her red top was tight-fitting. The water was _cold_. He did not even want to imagine how things would turn out if she decided to have a go at the waterfalls. He would not be able to look at her again, not the way he had looked at her when he was a child. Therefore Rimm should just do whatever she came to the waterfalls for. At least something good had come out of this trip. Even after they left Gongaga, Rimm would be able to visit her parents every once in a while without worrying. They could visit her as well.

But for now they would have to be ready to leave when Rufus wished to.

* * *

**R.R.**

Sorry for deh sappy? Hope deh Rufus was in-character.

Next chapter (back in Midgar) will have more action and spying and searching and suspense and Hojo and Hojo and Hojo and shadows and darkness and feelings. Hehah.


	13. Library Venture

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy.

...This is chapter number _thirteen_. Hehah.

* * *

Library Venture

* * *

Weeks had passed since their visit to Gongaga. In the wake of the trip, things seemed unnaturally _calm_, despite not at all being _quiet_. Rufus had yet to be scolded by his father, which meant the President had obviously not found out about his son's short vacation yet. The General had no intentions of telling. Why would he wish to disrupt his current contentment with such an unimportant matter as the situation between a rebellious son and his strict father? There existed a peace of mind in Sephiroth. One he wished would last.

As it were, it was not unusual for him to find himself watching the papers in front of him without grasping what they said, in spite of the fact that he could read the words perfectly well. Reading without comprehending was not efficient. When was the last time he had been inefficient at all?

"Tsch," he uttered. It did not matter if he worked slowly; There were so few papers left for him to read through that he usually left Shinra before noon every day, much to the chagrin of the other employees in the building.

Sephiroth turned his chair so he faced the window, which was framed by long, charcoal curtains. Outside the dense clouds did, as always, prevent most of the sun rays from coming through. They were denser than usual, though, and seemed to move faster than they normally did. Autumn was getting colder. It made him wonder if it would snow soon. If such became the case, would the snow be white, gray, or completely black from pollution? The latter would not come as a surprise, but it would not please him either. Which was best, black snow or no snow? Sephiroth frowned as the question formed in his mind, but was interrupted as someone knocked on the door.

He turned around before it opened, knowing - as always - that it was time for lunch.

"Morning," Rimm said, flashing a sloped grin as she entered. She left her trolley outside. For once, she had not saved him for last. There were many of the white lunch boxes on the trolley outside the door, waiting to be delivered. His own was placed in front of him on the desk. It was quite conveniently placed, actually; On top of his paperwork. If any other person did the same, it would annoy him. But not this lunch deliverer. Rimm was, if anything, a friend that he appreciated. For her to say 'good morning' in a relaxed manner was no longer uncommon - she acted more comfortably around him now than she used to earlier. The first few times she had come into his office, she'd had her head lowered so her hair or beanie hid her face, she had used formal titles when addressing him, and, without fail, she had always hurried to leave.

Lately, however, every time she did or said anything out of the ordinary, he'd flash a smirk, much to her enjoyment.

Occasionally, he feigned a look of complete disinterest or boredom, then he would thoroughly enjoy the disturbed reaction she gave in return, which made him smirk in the end either way.

To be quite frank, after spending time with Zack, Rimm and the other (yet few) friends he had gathered, Sephiroth felt he had improved. To put it one way: Instead of seeing night arise from day, he saw day arise from night. It was a change he welcomed.

"I said _good morning_." Her voice held the edge of a teacher speaking to her pupil.  
"You only said _morning_." he corrected monotonously, rendering her speechless for a second. She still wasn't one hundred percent confident around him, but she was getting there, and quickly so. For him it was easier: She had not changed. But since _he _had(from the 8-year old child she had known), she'd had a rough time adjusting. This, however, was a matter that only required some _time_.

"...And you didn't reply." Rimm patted his lunch box while smirking in an attempt to regain some control.

Even after getting the last word, both knew _he_ was the victor of this short conversation of theirs. It was meaningless, but it was a _win_, and he did not pass up on the chance to flash a triumphant smirk. At this, Rimm's head fell and she shook it helplessly, then turned and left. It was a play, of course. He knew she was still smirking, or at least that a faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. And even if she said no such thing as 'farewell', or even 'see you', none of them felt the slightest bit uncomfortable.

After she left, however, he pushed the lunch box aside and continued doing his paperwork. He would definitely complete it all today.

Rimm had mentioned something earlier, too, about having this weekend off. As a joke, she had said something about borrowing books from Shinra's Research Library to learn more about the experiments done with her. Living in ignorance was not always a comfortable thing. Speaking of which, he wondered about her experiments as well. Just how far were the scientists capable of going with _humans_? Research was legal, but experimentation to that degree, for such a long time, was surely not. Where was the proof that they had done so to Rimm? ...He _had_ checked the small lab library that belonged to Hojo, but not the main Research Library at the 62nd floor, which was said to be _inaccessible_ to those without the required Keycard. Only a few higher-ups, as well as a chosen few scientists, were allowed there. It would be a challenge.

_Why did so many details of this appear in his mind? _  
...Was it possible that he had subconsciously made a plan to go there?

Narrowing his eyes, Sephiroth once again gathered in his mind the data he had about the library. Perhaps it was time for a small test of his stealth again.

* * *

Rimm would absolutely _not_ be surprised if the headlines of _all_ the papers tomorrow read _'Heartbeat gave away criminal'_, because her heart really _was_ loud enough to wake up all the guards at every single floor of the Shinra Headquarters.

Because President Shinra loved money, he was greedy. Because he was greedy, he kept most lights off in the building during nighttime. Which was why she wore black clothes to blend in with the shadows. She felt like she was in a horrible imitation of a popular action movie wherein the hero (herself) was about to get spotted by the villains - the guards. Or the other way around. She was, after all, breaking in without being allowed to.

Sure, she had jet black, ninja-wannabe clothes. She had the keycard she used when she delivered lunch. But apart from her usual beanie, which quite fittingly had the word "Aim" and a target embroidered on it, she had nothing to hide her face or head. She had simply tucked her hair into the beanie. If the cameras got her on tape, she would be busted. Busted and fired. What would Sephiroth say? And Reno? ...Reno _would_ laugh. He'd take her seriously, yeah, but he'd laugh at the same time. Would he also be impressed? Rude would say nothing. Sephiroth... No, she didn't want to know, even now that they were getting to know each other better. Zack was the only one she could imagine comforting her if she did get fired, though. But then again, it was more likely that Zack would make her cry by comforting her. She was best off alone if she got fired. She could move back to Gongaga and become a farmer. Milk cows and stuff. But before that, she had to survive this little wander of hers.

_Why me?_

The answer was obvious; Because _she_ had wanted to go to the library to find out more about what had happened to her during the fifteen years she'd been prevented from aging without knowing so herself.

As if by a miracle, she had made it to the library on the 62nd floor without being spotted. She vaguely suspected that had something to do with guards with the ability to sleep sound through anything and everything. So, while at all times facing away from the cameras, she shuffled and leafed through files, books, even scrolls, in search of anything that could be about herself. There were four small libraries at the floor, each in their own rooms. Because she lacked light, however, it wasn't easy to read. She had to stay close to the faint light of the emergency exit signs, which were located above the doors. At least she was getting somewhere. She had already found an impressive number of books that _didn't_ hold information about her.

By the time she had finished looking through the books and reports in one of the small libraries, she was getting weary. It was past midnight. She still didn't yield, despite the effort her heart made to give her away.

After finishing half of all the books (both the first and second library room, out of four) her attention became more focused on the things she skimmed through, rather than on her surroundings. Thus, in sync with the calming of her heartbeat, her alertness weakened. She was turning inattentive.

Hours passed much faster than usual when scanning the books for important clues - instead of paying attention to the room, guards and cameras.

Still, after successfully finishing three out of four rooms without results, she was beginning to have large doubts. Human research was allowed, but human _experimentation_ was _not_. Perhaps no one had made a report about her at all, because that would leave proof for something illegal. Who would expose their own criminal deeds like that? ...Why hadn't she thought of that before? At the moment, she was sneaking around illegally _sixty-two_ floors above ground, with hundreds of cameras and just as many guards between herself and the exit _for no reason at all. Now_ she realized that it was highly possible that the reports about her didn't even exist?

..._How_ did she get all the way up here again..?

Rimm swallowed, trying to stay as quiet as possible on her way to the fourth and final library. Even if she _did_ find something of interest, chances were it would be undecipherable. At least in _her_ eyes. Like weird, long words she had no knowledge of, whatsoever. Moving slowly, she opened the final door and stepped inside. It seemed to be colder in here than in the other rooms. There weren't any openings for breeze to intrude, but the temperature was still lower. Perhaps she should leave. She wasn't one to believe in bad omens, but perhaps the source of the coldness was close. What if it was a guard? ...How could a guard make a room cold? But it could be a monster, too, trained to keep away everyone bold enough to trespass.

While thinking, she had subconsciously come to a stop - in the middle of the room.

A truly disadvantageous position. Feeling frightened and awkward at the same time, she dove into the shadows between the closest shelves, then crouched down. It was darker here than in the other rooms too, as books, scrolls and loose papers were sticking out everywhere. There simply wasn't enough room for everything in the shelves, thus leaving piles on the floor as well, which in turn prevented light from reaching to where she sat. She could barely see anything.

But she _heard_ something. A click of the door handle as the door opened alerted her. The arrival of a person who, as of yet, was unknown to her. She needed to know who it was. While the reasonable part of her mind screamed and shouted at her to get the heck out of there as soon as possible, Rimm got up slowly until she stood. A tingle through her body made her pause, but she ignored it. Carefully she pulled out a few books from the shelf blocking her view of the door. By removing them, she could see through the hole they left behind on the shelf. When she peeked through she caught a brief glimpse of something white, but the person left her view. A scientist? Vigilantly, she turned a little in order to see who the person was when he or she passed by the shelf she hid behind.

Then one arm locked around one of her arms, and a leather-clad hand covered her mouth and nose.

Feeling her blood rush through her veins faster than she had ever felt before, she was pulled down to the floor. The strong grip let go of her arm, only to quickly move around her and claim hold of her arms and her torso, thus immobilizing everything but her legs. Unable to breathe, yet in desperate need of air, Rimm was only able to watch as the white-clothed person from earlier passed by, almost right in front of herself and her captor.

It was professor Hojo.

Needless to say, Rimm didn't move. She would have held her breath even if the gloved hand let go of her.

* * *

How did it come to this?

He was holding her in a death-grip. He could break her with a simple movement of his arm. The only thing separating his perpetually stained hands from her was the thin fabric of his gloves. The extent to which this disturbed him only became more clear to him when Hojo walked past them, and he redirected his attention to their escape. When Rimm moved slightly in his grip, however, it dawned on him that he was holding her unreasonably close. To put it perfectly bluntly, he was pressing her against his chest. She was trying to pull her arms free, stronger now, her hands reaching for her face. She was resting against him, without knowing for sure if it was him or someone else. He could be Zack, or any other Shinra employee for that matter.

Unsure of what to do, and disturbed far more by his current position than by Hojo - who meandered between the few messy book shelves - Sephiroth remained still. Rimm's legs were splayed in front of him, with her facing away, and his own were on each side of her - him sitting on his knees. Instead of struggling, Rimm was gradually starting to tremble. Only then did he realize, with a sudden pulse of something akin to fear, that he was s_till clutching her mouth._ His arm whipped away from her face and up into the air with such speed and force that a whistling sound broke the silence. Whether Rimm and Hojo heard, or if his sense of hearing was the only one accurate enough to pick it up, he was too perturbed to think of. In his mind existed only one thought currently: Rimm was _not_ a Soldier, and she could _not_ hold her breath as long as one.

He had been too careless. Did she have to _die_ for him to be more cautious?

Below his other arm, he felt her chest rise and sink fast, yet not loud enough to be heard from a distance. Her head tilted just enough for her to see his raised arm, which he still held away from her, as if it were a lethal weapon. And it _was_. Upon seemingly recognizing his arm despite the shadows, Rimm's shoulders fell slowly and she struggled not to let her head fall back to him. He still felt her back against his chest. Her heart was beating. No wonder; Not only was Hojo still there; Sephiroth had come out of nowhere and acted the way he did. Swallowing, so as to regain his composure and get out without being spotted, he rose to his feet slowly, yet stealthily, pulling up Rimm to her legs in the process. At some point, her hair had loosened from her hat(which was still safely on her head and not left behind to serve as a potential clue to the guards), and most of her fringes were in her face.

Feeling Hojo stop in his tracks, Sephiroth froze. There was nothing more he wanted than to release Rimm and tell her to follow him out, but then Hojo would notice them, he knew it. There was only _one door_, and Hojo had it within his sight. If Sephiroth were alone, he would be able to escape easily. But Rimm was not fast enough to evade Hojo's eyes. Still, Sephiroth was reluctant to let this force him to swiftly carry her out of there. He had already done so once, a few weeks back, when she'd had a fever and had practically collapsed into his arms. Even then, he had held her at an arms length. Not because he wanted to avoid her, but rather because he did not want to stain her. His hands, though gloved, were at fault for the deaths of too many. She did not know, in detail, all the things he had commited.

Frowning darkly at himself, he let go of Rimm. He had something he could use; A materia. It was a green Time materia, with the spells Haste, Slow and Stop embedded in it. The latter was the one he needed. Hojo would hopefully not know what hit him.

Faint emerald light emitted from the small orb for a brief second, then flashed in the direction of Hojo, whose head snapped up, but then stopped dead. The Stop spell worked. Hojo would wake up shortly, unaware of what had happened.

"Hurry," Sephiroth ordered in a whisper; the first word spoken aloud that night. As such, it sounded louder than it was.

Rimm did not need to be asked twice.

By the time they were out of the building, more than sixty floors away from Hojo and the library, Rimm came to a halt and sat down on the first and best bench her eyes could find in the barely lit gardens outside. None of the street lamps nearby were anything to brag of; Their light was just about as strong as that of a few candles stocked together in one place. Sephiroth, hesitant to move closer after what he had done earlier, slowly moved to stand in front of her. He did not stand close to her, nor did he watch her. His gaze was not lowered, though; He looked to his side and observed the activity downhill with badly feigned interest.

"So sorry. I..." she said. She knew he listened, but he made no sign of hearing. How to approach such a situation? He already knew why she had been there. She hadn't been joking after all. When she had said she would spend her weekend to sneak into the library... Of course, he had taken it for granted that she was not serious, as her expression and voice had suggested nothing along the lines of her speaking the truth. Perhaps she had changed her mind later. Who wouldn't, having experienced long-lasting experiments to such as degree as her? It was only natural for her to wish to find out _what exactly_ had been done to her.

That was also why _he_ had been there. Of course, he also wanted to know whether the scientists had performed similar experiments with others. Either way, they had done something illegal. Every person involved in the experimenting on and with humans (except for the victims) to that extent and for such a long period of time without even asking the subjects themselves, deserved nothing less than being jailed. Or worse. Retribution in the form of apology and fines were self-explanatory.

But at least Sephiroth had found _something_ in the library_._ Nothing of extreme importance, nor about Rimm or any other person.

But he had found several small notes speaking of a village by the name of Nibelheim. Apparently there existed a mansion, the _Shinra Mansion_, which held the _'original files'_. What these _'original files'_ contained, Sephiroth did not know. However, he _did_ know that said files were old, because the papers he discovered said so. Perhaps from around the time Rimm was taken in for her very much unjustly dubbed 'eye-check', or even before that. From when professor _Gast_ was still around. Sephiroth had heard much of him.

"I wanted to know what kind of experiments I was used for," she finished, with no particular sound in her voice.

He turned and searched her face for traces of his rushed actions earlier. He could have strangled her.  
_With these hands, _which were undeniably the ones to be blamed for the deaths of so many he would never _not_ be haunted, he had been well on his way to suffocate _her._

There were no visible marks. Taciturnly, he let his gaze move from her face and past her. Behind the bench she occupied was a grass lawn - it did not appear to be cared for. The brown, dry strands of grass outnumbered the green ones, and the viridity of the living grass was tainted by the polluted air. Like _they_ were _stained_, he was defiled. Water would help the small grass field, but what could cleanse _him_; However could he begin to repent if he had _killed?_

"Sephiroth. I said _I'm sorry._" Though only a little, she sounded like she was suffering.  
...Had his silence pained her so? _...She_ was the one being offended - by his quietness. He should tell her that it was all right.

Then why did something heavy ache inside him, in his lungs, as if to wordlessly tell him he was not needed, for all he did was damage others?

"No. There is..." ..._nothing for you__ to apologize for.__ I __am the one who_...

But he stopped speaking, and after a long, still moment his feet started carrying him away with long, yet slow strides. His lungs constricted with reluctance of speaking the rest of the words. For a minute, his own will left him. It was at times like these he felt the most _different._

* * *

**R.R.  
**No, _emo-ness?!_ Angst? ...Perhaps it's _Jenova._ (read the last paragraph again?)  
But I did give you some touchy-touchy between them this time...


	14. The Turk Trainee

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, and I do _not_ earn money for writing this fic. Makes me wonder why I do it... Reviews..?

A new Turk?!

* * *

The Turk _Trainee_

* * *

There was an invisible cloud of doom circling around a certain lunch deliverer that cold winter day. Whether it was a cloud of evil, sadness, gloom, anger or sulkiness was being discussed quietly among those who found it interesting enough to speak of. The subject was, however, getting old; Rimm had been like that all week, since the weekend she'd had off duty. Most of the employees that saw the state she was in, believed she'd had an extremely good taste of freedom during said weekend, only to be unwillingly pulled back to Shinra HQ and then be drowned in work again. But seriously, her job couldn't be _that _hard.

Sephiroth hadn't been there for the whole week because he had finished his paperwork and _locked his office_ - so that no more could be given to him. For this reason, Rimm did not get a chance at all to apologize for sneaking into the library and troubling him so. And with people like him, she couldn't exactly ask someone for his phone number. They would get the wrong idea. They'd think she had fallen for him, and they'd think she did everything she could to bother him and crave attention from him. That was not the case.

He was tall, yes. He was handsome, yes. She _did_ have eyes, so she knew. He was the only person on the planet with _natural _silver hair. No one else than Sephiroth could carry those leather clothes and look good with them. His jade eyes were the only orbs that could be described as burning. The flames, though not red or orange, did indeed seem to burn when she watched them. It was as if some kind of _energy_ was constantly running in his orbs. Or intelligence.

Feeling one of her brows twitch, Rimm narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on the handle of the empty lunch trolley.

Her destination was the glass lift. Then the kitchen. Then home to the super-small closet that Shinra so leisurely dubbed _'apartment'_. The rent she paid suggested something far more luxurious. At least she had somewhere to live and sleep. At least _try_ to sleep. That had been close to impossible the last days. She'd had only a few hours of sleep in days, and even though she _rested_ a lot, lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll - more than she bothered paying attention to.

* * *

Reno was in the lounge with the other Turks, including a newbie, when Rimm passed through.

"Hey, Rimm! Over here!" the redhead exclaimed, acting oblivious to the invisible, yet very much present atmosphere of gloom shrouding her. She stopped and looked in their direction, her eyes like daggers.

But then she glanced at Kurai, and something about him seemed to surprise her. His white hair..? Maybe? Either way, she looked shocked.

"Hm? Who is she?" the white-haired man next to him spoke.

Casually tilting his head back and looking at the lunch deliverer closely, the man made no signs of wanting to go over there to say hello and ask _her_ the question. Reno held back a twitch as the newbie arched two brows at the silently fuming woman. For some seconds he watched her, giving no signs of acknowledging the small group that had gathered to wish him welcome. The man saw only her. There were quite a few secretaries, some who had already fallen for the guy. Reno didn't really like him. In fact, he intended to use Rimm to escape from this troublesome situation. He'd present her to Kurai, then sneak away. With the two of them talking(or maybe fighting?), and with the other employees that had gathered around pretty close to them, Reno could sneak off without Tseng or Elena holding him back. They wouldn't interrupt Rimm or Kurai by calling Reno back, nor push people aside to fetch him.

"You comin'?" Reno asked and waved a hand for Rimm to come closer. She made a big deal of looking towards the glass elevators, then back at him, and at the elevators again. Then she yielded and mechanically brought her empty trolley over. She walked slowly, not bothering to hide her frown, not even when she stopped next to them.

"Kurai, this is Rimm. Rimm, Kurai." After that short introduction, Reno waited for them to speak, so he could leave.

At this, Kurai's eyes visibly widened, then narrowed as if in disbelief, but then he got a hold on himself and calmed his expression. Rimm stared at him, stiff as a stick, her anger and annoyance vivid.

Kurai, trying to smooth over his reaction seconds ago, looked at her with half-shut eyes and raised eyebrows, and had his thumbs in his pockets. To tell the truth, he looked quite slouched; His jacket was open, save for a single button. His shirt was untucked. Just like Reno's. That was one of the things that bothered the redhead. Kurai's hair color was even more eye-catching than his own red locks. Even the man's eyebrows were white. If he were pale, they would barely be visible at all - but his skin carried a slightly red, yet natural tan that even made his white eyelashes look fairly okay. Which was _another_ reason Reno didn't like the guy. His hairstyle looked very much like Zack's, only shorter. It stood straight up. Still, it didn't smell of hair gel or spray. It didn't smell a thing. How could hair stand up like that at all times? Was it genetic? Was it a wig? If that was the case, did he dye his eyebrows and eyelashes every day?

"It seems to me as if you want to return home. Are your children waiting, perhaps?" Kurai asked, smirking. It didn't take much effort to see Rimm's mouth and nose twitch.  
"I don't have kids." Her voice was low. He could hear she struggled not to be impolite.

"...I see. Do they no longer keep you company?"

Indirectly, though not at all discreetly, he was saying that she looked _old._ That was a sensitive matter - on a few occasions she had told Reno she was simply _tired._ She still managed an overly fake smile while purposely grinding her teeth. Finding this the best time to move away, Reno stepped back as discreetly as possible.

"I am _pleased_ to meet you, _Kurai._" The words were spoken with a voice colder than most of them had ever heard her use before. The Turk trainee's smirk grew.  
"You will be delivering lunch to me, too, isn't that correct? What is for lunch tomorrow?" He was testing her.

Of some reason, it seemed as if they were fighting a very private battle.

For a minute she stood there, watching him with only partially hidden annoyance that seemed to be gradually turning into extreme dislike. Being the lunch _deliverer_ did not mean she automatically knew what the _cooks_ were planning for lunch tomorrow. She had already been on the verge of breakdown for days, or at least that was how she had looked. What bothered her, no one knew for sure. But they were not stupid enough to fool around with her. Sure, she was not particularly violent or strong(though they had yet to see her fight at all), but she had other things to use for her defense.

Like a sharp tongue.

"For you, Cow-Ray, yesterday's crust remains with pork ass." The words were spoken monotonously, in a way that she had most likely picked up from Tseng or Sephiroth when they were busy and did not want to be interrupted. Her face was lethargic, except for her frown and the dangerous glint in her metal eyes. Kurai's brow twitched, but he kept his calm perfectly.

"Thank you. And while I'm still at it, you do look good when angry." He said it just to annoy her.

Now in the door leading out of the room, Reno could have sworn he felt Rimm's solidified malice trying to stop him from leaving - as if trying to get revenge on him for introducing her to the young, but white-haired man.

"Since _you _indirectly, and with sissy words, claim to be one hundred times better than me, I only have _verbal_ attacks at my disposal. If you said those things _on purpose_, and if _I ever_ become strong enough to take you on, I will replace your eyes with your balls before you can say the _'S'_ in _'sorry'_."  
Those were only words, but nonetheless words that caused reactions bordering _physical _pain. Reno's opinion. Rimm almost seemed to know this guy. The words worked better on some than others, obviously. Kurai's smirk intensified to a sloped grin. As if just to annoy Reno(who was now oddly curious as to what would happen between the two persons), Kurai's teeth were whiter than his hair.

"What a colorful choice of words. It fits you," he said, narrowing his eyes at her.  
"Oh? You like _older women?_" Rimm countered, looking at him with wide eyes, faking surprise.

"I did not mean to say you were old," he said casually, now smirking confidently again.

Then Reno decided it was safe to leave and exited the room successfully, without being stopped. He was looking forward to a moment without the formal-speech, white-hair dude-person.

* * *

The next day, after delivering lunch(once again, Sephiroth was not there for her to apologize to), Rimm stomped off to Reno's office. Once there, she slammed a hand on the door frame and looked down on the man slouching behind the desk. Rude was there also.

"Snow-... Kurai has been on my back _constantly._" Her voice sounded as malevolent as her eyes looked. Thanks to her beanie, shadows were cast on her eyes(which now had tiny pupils), making her look more intimidating than she was. She wore black, loose fitting jeans and a red, long-armed sweatshirt for the occasion.

"Snow-what?"

Rimm grit her teeth and sighed loudly.

"Ariel, answer this question; _Why_ aren't you Turks taking care of the guy? He has stuck to me all day, just to hear my _'snug remarks'_!" Now she sounded more _annoyed _than _angry, _she knew, but perhaps by toning down her evil expression and voice like this, Reno might listen.

"He said that? Snug remarks? ...Wait, Ariel?"  
"Keep him _away from me,_" she said, pointing at Reno to emphasize her point.  
"But I don't like the guy."

"Then why is he a Turk trainee? Can't you vote him out or something?"

"...His strong points are strength, intelligence and speed. The combination... is rare," Rude explained. Reno shot a glare at him.  
"Tsch. Strength, intelligence and speed. Initials S, I, S. That's _'sis'_... no, sissy. _Sissy. _That'll be his nickname. Roger that?"

Rimm sighed annoyedly - again - and let her head drop. That nickname would do no good.

Having nothing more to say, she turned around and left without a word. While walking down the hall, she mentally slapped herself for almost calling Kurai Snow White. Why was it that she associated the people she met with people from fairytales? Reno as Ariel... Sephiroth as Rapunzel. And now Kurai as Princess (or rather _Prince, _but she would never call him that) Snow White. The only logical explanation was her mother's bedtime stories. Rimm was just stupid for remembering _those_ storied instead of the things she learned in school and such. Who else could she categorize as princesses? She should stop while still playing safe. Anyway, she should revert back to the original nick-name she had given him - Cow-Ray. It was much better. More befitting by far.

It was what she had been calling him since the very first time they had met.

In Gongaga. _  
Cow-Ray-Ass._  
The overly smart, adult-like, perverted little boy who had been the very first kid she had met who had the personality like an adult man. And the biggest pain and torture in the world.

As if on cue, someone breathed in her ear. The cold breath made her elbow snap out behind her of reflex, but she hit nothing. Instead, someone seized her arm and pulled her back.

"Good evening." Kurai's lame catchphrase. So annoying that it gave her the goosebumps and her nose wrinkled more than what was strictly necessary. He used it even if it was morning - she had learned to know it.  
Then she couldn't resist.

"Princess Snow White? I thought you had to attend tea-serving classes. Have you decided not to join the prom committee after all?"

"...I _am_ joining the Turks."

He looked her square in the eyes - for she had turned to face him - and then she looked down to her elbow, which was still in his grip. She had never been too good at looking into others' eyes. Thus, to keep her mind occupied, she tried prying off his hand. He was strong, but she had something he hadn't - nails. Though they were a little short, he was forced to use his free hand to pry _her_ free hand off. For a second, a very short moment, she considered kicking him. But Tseng and the others wouldn't like that. What _could_ she do? Should she just say 'please' and leave after all? Would she have to _beg_ him to make him stay away?

"Let go," she muttered. It was worth a try.  
"Why?" he questioned, clearly already testing her. Again.

"Because... there are probably _ten_ secretaries willing to hang around you on each of the seventy floors in this building. That makes seven hundred curvy, tan, beautiful, seductive, _willing_ women with short skirts and see-though blouses."

She hoped it'd work. He loosened his grip, but tightened it when she tried freeing herself again. If only she wasn't so tired and annoyed... If she'd had more sleep the last week, she would have been able to wring out of his grip _and_ (hopefully) escape him afterward. But judging from the rumors, his stamina was as just good as his speed. It was depressing, to say the least. There they were, standing in an empty corridor, wasting time on something that could only be described as stupid and useless.

"That is good," he said. Although she didn't watch his face, she could almost _hear_ him smirk.  
"But what good is seven hundred when _one_ outright rejects every attempt I make at approaching her?" he inquired, his tone playful, but somehow cold at the same time.

"...What the heck do you see in _me? _I don't have any money. I don't look as good as the secretaries." That was the truth. He was just fooling around, trying out his skills with her before trying to get closer to the big deals.

"Precisely, and that is what makes you unique." To be quite frank, his 'compliments' only made her cringe.

_Please, let go._  
...No, she would never say that. Not even with a strong ironic touch to it.

Instead, she looked up, trying to hold his eyes. As she guessed, she couldn't hold his reddish brown gaze for too long, and averted her eyes to his shoulder. He wore a cheerful smirk. At some point, he had seized both of her arms at her elbows. Seeing nothing else to do, Rimm looked past him. Then, as convincing as absolutely possible, she pretended seeing someone coming closer. Of no apparent reason(or because she had been thinking of apologizing to him and thanking him for saving her from Hojo in the library), her mind pictured Sephiroth. Feigning surprise, but not too much, she let her eyes widen and instantly lowered her head so she watched the floor. Consequently, she hunched her shoulders. At this point, the image in her mind was strong enough to make her trapped arms tremble, and her pulse was definitely faster than usual. This was the extent of her guilt. She was sure of it.

"...Hm?" She felt Kurai loosen his grip to look over his shoulder.

Then she jerked out of his grip. Resisting her childish, stupid, foolish urge to stick out her tongue at him, Rimm managed a quite funny-looking fast strut and quickly scurried away. She doubted Kurai would follow her. After all, she had just fooled him. It wouldn't be _'honorable'_ to follow her since this was her win. At least so she guessed. Glancing over her shoulder, she expected seeing a frown, or at least narrowed eyes. But she was meet with a pleased smile. Not wanting to lose her calm, she narrowed her eyes and felt the corner of her lips turn down.

"Goodbye, sissy." She simply couldn't resist using the nickname Reno had come up with. Even though it was bad and bland. Perhaps she had seen to many movies.

Hearing her muttered words echo in her mind like Kurai's own lame catchphrase, she placed a hand on her beanie and pulled it down until it nearly covered her eyes completely.

* * *

"Rimm? Hey, is that you?"

Hearing that voice, Rimm stopped walking and jerked around on the spot. She had just left the Shinra HQ. The owner of that voice was Zack. Suddenly all her worries were pushed away to a distant corner of her mind. Relieved, she managed a faint smile as she hurried over to the Soldier. He was standing by a a monstrous bike, wearing dirty clothes and a stunningly white grin, as always, and seemed ready to go any minute.

"Zack, long time, no see!" At that, he sighed wearily and smiled sheepishly.  
"Well, I usually work late, so we usually dont meet. And I have a girlfriend now, ya know, so I'm not here too often in the morning," he said, his smile not faltering.

"Really? Who is your girlfriend?" Rimm asked, flashing a genuine, lopsided smirk, wondering who was lucky enough to get her hands on the funny, kind and understanding Zack. Somehow, he had an ability to make her happy by just being around - and she was sure she wasn't the only one. An almost motherly feeling took hold of her, but she quickly shook it off. It couldn't be helped. She had, after all, spent time with Zack back in Gongaga. Why was it that she had met so many young boys in the past? Zack, Sephiroth and Kurai. Even though the latter was a little older and still appeared somewhat young.

"Her name's Aerith," he willingly replied, his smile growing warmer and wider, until he was grinning again. Perhaps she was more than just a girlfriend to him? She hoped Aerith was as kind as Zack. If she ignored the 'motherly feeling' of hers, she could easily call him a brother. She didn't have one, but she was sure that was how it felt.

"That's a nice name. Somehow, she sounds really kind - I'm happy for you," Rimm said, managing a honest smile despite her tiredness and earlier inconveniences.

Zack let his elbows rest on the handwheel of his motorbike and supported his head with his hands. A dreamy expression was gradually making it through to the surface of his face. This was why she and the others hadn't seen _him_ in a while, but what about Sephiroth? Had Zack and Sephiroth perhaps went on a double date that resulted in both of them finding someone who could possibly become the women of their lives? Or was Sephiroth just tagging along with Zack so he wouldn't have to return to Shinra for a while? ...Perhaps he was avoiding her. Working only at night, to avoid lunch. He didn't want to hear her excuses for being in the library, and wanted (without words) to stop their friendship.

Her suspicions and roaming thoughts were obviously showing on her face, because Zack suddenly looked worried.

"Huh? Rimm? Why is your face wilting?" he asked surprisedly. It sounded like he was wondering if he had totally not noticed that she was down form the beginning.  
"You okay? D' something happen?" he continued, searching her face.

"I'm tired, that's all... No, wait. There's an annoying guy bothering me. A Turk trainee. So, for now I'll just go home," she said, forcing half a smile on her face while stepping back. With a wave of her hand she left, trying not to think too much of Zack's confused, yet unmistakably... _prankish_ expression.

* * *

The next day, Rimm was more than ready to engage in a verbal fight with Kurai. Thanks to lack of sleep again, she'd had plenty of time to come up with phrases to knock him off. She just hoped she'd remember them long enough to use them. She hadn't delivered lunch yet; She was early for once. An hour had yet to pass before she'd have to start strolling around with the food. At the moment, she had just finished a trip to the restroom to wipe her nose. It had been so cold outside that when she left her apartment and went outside, her newly showered hair had frozen to ice. Thus, with tinkling ice hair, she had arrived at Shinra without her hair having dried.

"Rimm, good evening." The utterance of her name stirred the more boisterous fighter in her. And the ma _still _said _good evening._ In the _morning._  
"Cow-Ray-Asshole," she replied, her voice as normal as possible.

"How are you?" he asked, politely. It was annoying to no end - it made it look like _she _was the bad person, since she was the one who used the bad words.  
"I just _lightened my burdens_ in _there._ I don't feel anything at all." Her voice was still normal, and she used her thumb to point over her shoulder to the restroom door. Then she started to leave.

"Are you sure?" he tried again. Rimm stopped and turned to him with a slightly concentrated look on her face. A spur-of-the-moment quote formed in her mind.  
"Well, my ass certainly feels lighter after visiting the _restroom_. Does that count?" That struck him speechless for a moment, and hopefully disgusted as well(which was absolutely her intention), and she scurried away. Perhaps rudeness was the way to go about to avoid the guy.

Either way, that start was good.

* * *

**R.R.**

You're not offended, right? And you got the joke? There is a picture of Kurai on my DeviantArt page. You can find a link to it on my FanFic profile.  
AND! (-shifty eyes-) ...Uh, _all_ reviews are greatly appreciated - constructive criticism too. :)


	15. Going Too Far

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy.

_(Again, I know there is no Christmas is FF7, but there will be christmas themes in this story...)  
_From now on, all the chapters will be much longer... (because things are starting now - ideas I've been looking forward to write, heh...) So... don't skip paragraphs, because then Kurai will haunt your dreams with a bazooka.

* * *

Going Too Far

* * *

Sephiroth had returned.

He was in his office, doing paperwork. There was not much, but enough for him to sit for a while before leaving, which he did not mind. His office was cold, though, as he had not been there for a while. Winter was taking its toll on the window already. It was covered with patterns of frost. Though it was not yet snowing, it was cold enough to make anyone shudder and bring an extra coat. Anyone but him, of course. It was with mixed feelings he had left his apartment that morning; He had not brought Masamune, nor any extra garments to protect himself from the cold. He did not need to. After all, he simply could not become sick. As for the Masamune, he could not make himself attach it to his back. There was no particular reason. No reason that came to mind, at least.

All week, he had spent the great majority of his waking hours training, so as to get things off his mind. He had trained to perfect something that could be categorized as an ability in the middle between magic and physical moves. By mixing the two, _magic _and _strength, _and gathering energy from a source inside him that he had found some time ago(but only just mastered), he had managed to do something that no other human had done before.

To _levitate._

It was a feat. Thanks to this achievement, he had felt content enough to be unable to describe how, exactly, it felt. A sensation had simply _been_ _there, _present only as an immense calm within him_._ However, now that he was back, other things returned to him as well. During the past week, he had not seen any of his subordinates, nor even _one _of the 1st Class Soldiers. No one knew where he had been. The first person he had seen when upon returning was Zack, who by the way seemed preoccupied with _two_ matters; A woman whose name was Aerith, and something he was planning with Reno and, apparently, a Turk trainee. Speaking of which, if there was a Turk trainee, Sephiroth should at least introduce himself.

Sighing, he signed a report after having skimmed through it, then put it aside. There wasn't much left. Still, he did not work particularly fast to complete any of it.

Because lunch had yet to come.

That subject brought forth another person; _Rimm._ The one whose face was what had most frequently stolen his concentration during his training by simply appearing before his mind's eye. That was undoubtedly because of the library incident. He had nearly made her suffocate, then he had left her with words that did not even form a whole sentence. Such impudence was unheard of. To tell the truth, he was currently quite riveted to give her an explanation. It would only be a matter of time before he got the chance.

But back then, after getting out of the library and the building, _she_ had said she was _sorry_. She had absolutely _nothing_ to apologize to him for. Owing to this, her apology had been resonating and replaying in his mind while he tried finding out why exactly she had given him one. They had escaped successfully, hadn't they? Hojo had not seen them. She had not caused him inconvenience - on the contrary. _He_ had caused himself and her inconvenience by doing much of what he did. If she thought she had given him inconvenience, he had to prove her otherwise.

* * *

_Her mother had strictly told Rimm to go fetch her father at the old bar, and to return home with him immediately. Such an order might have given most people an idea of her father being a drunkard and a person who wasted money like he did fiends. Rimm knew otherwise - her father was a low-ranked member of Soldier, but a Soldier member nonetheless, and he took great pride in it. So when her mother told her to go get him from the bar, it actually meant that her father was in the bar only to keep the people calm. A number of times, when he hadn't been around to practically babysit his friends during the weekends, things had gone wrong. People had been hurt. Not much, but more than enough for everyone in the tiny Gongaga to find out._

_Only this time, this weekend, her father wasn't in the bar._

_Instead of the old, usual gang of men, only two persons were inside. The bartender, and a white-haired kid. Forgetting about her father at the sight of the stunningly white hair, she walked closer, wanting to know who the boy was. When she came close enough he turned around and gave her a lazy look._

_"Minions not allowed, you person,_"_ he said, as if completely fed up with her just after one look.  
"What? ...I'm only here to get dad,_"_ she replied, annoyed that a kid like him could speak to her like that with such calm confidence. He could only be about twelve.  
_

_"We go by behavior here. You do not behave like an adult." How could he say that after having met her only a minute ago?_

_The bartender, seemingly used to this rudeness, flashed a short, sympathetic smile. Then he left the room and went into the kitchen, out of hearing range. Rimm turned back to the boy, and was disturbed when she found that instead of that lethargic face from earlier, he was grinning slyly. Rimm's eyebrow twitched._

_"...What?" she demanded. He was young, but was he also drunk? ...No. He couldn't be.__  
"Can I offer you a drink?"_

_She stared, dumbfounded. What was this? Why would such a question escape a child? _

_After that question she tried talking him into going home to his parents, but he refused time and time again, each time adding snug, perverted comments that made Rimm wonder how his parents had raised him, or if they had tried to at all. If their aim had been to raise him to become an adult as soon as possible, they had been successful, but in a not-so-good way. This person, who repeatedly told her his name was Kurai and that she needed to remember it well, was __an adult, and strongly so, but only in mind and speech. The only child-like thing about him was his age. And even for a kid, he was rather big and strong-looking. During that small, seemingly harmless discussion between the two of them, she came to fear Kurai like she would fear a grown man behaving the same way. Finding this odd, she concealed it well. She didn't let it show, even a bit. If the boy realized she was the slightest bit intimidated by him, she had no idea how he would use it to bother her.  
_

_In the end she stomped out of the bar in anger after one of his comments, forgetting all about her father. He would return on his own later anyway._

_At first she believed her meeting with Kurai in the bar had been a one-time-and-never-again happening (one that she could use to entertain her grandchildren in the extremely distant future) - and that she wouldn't meet him again. He would leave Gongaga and return to wherever his parents lived. That was what she thought. But from then and on, he stayed over in the bar every night - having gained sympathy from the bartender there - and spent his days bothering Rimm and relishing in the annoyance she so visibly showed him. The more she got used to him, the ruder words she used. In the end she started shouting foul words at him in public, when the other villagers watched and listened, and after that the villagers gradually developed a view of Rimm as the 'bad guy'. In their eyes, Kurai was the white-haired, innocent boy who used proper language no matter which curses Rimm sent at him. He was tall and strong for his age, sure, but that didn't matter to them. They were oblivious to how she felt. Once she realized this she tried explaining how corrupt the boy really was, but her words were of no use. Their ears were shut. Many only sympathized more with Kurai after her explanations. In their eyes no children could be corrupt. Only adults could, and, if anything, children were only victims._

_A few of the villagers believed her, but not many. They only told her not to care about it - they did not see how serious the matter had become. On the surface things were like before, yes, so she couldn't blame them. Inside her, however, a rapidly growing insecurity had become large enough for her to genuinely fear the boy. If things continued like this and he kept following her around, wouldn't he be a stalker? And if it lasted for a very long time, wouldn't he eventually become strong enough to pose a threat? ...She would be in danger.  
_

_So, endlessly determined to shake him off(and - she admitted - claim victory in this battle of theirs), she asked her father to take her with him to Midgar. And he said yes._

* * *

"_Go. Away._" she threatened darkly, holding a mop handle in front of her. It had proved quite useful after running out of words that could keep Kurai away. The handle was even decorated with silvery tinsel, as she hadn't bothered removing it. Somehow, Kurai had grown immune to her verbal attacks. He just _enjoyed _them, and seemed more spirited every day. His eyes were (as usual) half shut in his usual attempt at keeping his calm, but at the same time his reddish brown orbs revealed excitement. It was like something pierced her whenever he was watching her. And every time he wasn't around _her_, he was trying out phrases on every other passer-by. They found it quite amusing, some even thrilling. _She_ did _not._

Today he wasn't even leaving her alone on her _lunch delivery _route. Earlier he had, at the very least, not bothered her when he was working. It was taking its toll on her. She still hadn't slept awfully much. Not since Rapunzel left. He probably strongly disliked her for going into the library like she had done.

"You should not be holding both your trolley and the broom handle at the same time. Let me help..?" he offered, his voice low and sonorous. But he didn't move.  
"I've managed fine _without you _so far." Her retort had no effect on him.

"I am offering to assist you." She knew what he was doing.

He was trying out phrases, different patterns of behavior, personalities and other ways of approaching on _her._ But he only did that so he could learn which of these things were most effective. Then he would retreat to find yet another innocent victim to add to his own, personal harem, which she was sure he tended to quite often. _Rimm_ was just someone he used for training. Flirt training. That was the only explanation.

"GO EAT YOUR FOOD!" she shouted, fuming, throwing the mop handle at him and scurrying off.

For once he didn't follow her. Somehow she still felt him smirking behind her back. Speaking of which, even though he had bothered her all week(his advances more obvious every day), he hadn't asked even _once _why and how she hadn't changed from when the two of them lived in Gongaga. He hadn't even hinted at it. Didn't Reno say something about one of Kurai's trong points being _intelligence? _Or was it Rude who said that? Either way, if Kurai was smart, how come he hadn't asked her why she hadn't aged? There was a chance he had figured it had something to do with the scientists, but if he asked them, would they say anything at all? ...To tell the truth, she wanted him to ask her about it just so she could refuse replying.

* * *

Rimm stopped for a moment, next to a randomly placed small, decorated tree of plastic, wondering if she had forgotten someone. She only had one person left; Rufus. But there were _two_ lunch boxes. Being sure she hadn't forgotten anyone on her usual route, it became painfully obvious to her that a certain silver-haired person had probably returned from his long break. This was what she had been waiting for. She should go apologize for being a pain, and then thank him for getting her out without Hojo seeing them. While she was at it, she'd thank him for a few other things, too.

Inhaling deeply, just to be prepared, she pushed the trolley forward and headed for his office.  
But when she got there, no silverhaired Rapunzels were inside. The room was unlocked, but empty.

In a spur of the moment, she stomped angrily to his desk and _almost_ slammed the lunch on it, but stopped herself. She didn't need even _more_ to apologize for. After very carefully putting the food down, she grabbed his pen and searched for an unused slip of notepaper. No post-its to be seen. Sending a quick glance towards the door, she bent over his desk and searched for the handle of the drawers there. It didn't take long. After opening it, she immediately found some post-it slips. Luck was apparently on her side at the moment. Rimm shut the drawer and scribbled a note. There was no use wasting time trying to write as beautifully as possible, as she would never even come _close _to his handwriting skills.

After finishing she left, wearing a faint scowl at herself for not finding him. Then something occurred to her that made her feel like someone had just hit her stomach with an anvil.

...What if he wasn't here _on purpose?_ What if he had _deliberately _left his office during lunch to _avoid_ her? To avoid _her? _Rimm slowly turned around and looked into the office. Perhaps she should change that note.

* * *

Rufus was having a quite normal day, save for the Christmas decoration hanging around. Shinra did not pay for it; The employees were more than willing to bring things that they obviously had no room for back home. He had stopped looking out windows at night, simply because there were too many lights and too much glitter. It was too flashy. Then again, that was how Shinra made money; By selling electricity to previously mentioned lights. What Shinra _did _pay for, however, were the Christmas _uniforms_(they all had to be delivered back to Shinra after New Year had passed, of course). These were only for the employees working on floor fifty and up. It was a tradition that the employees either loved with great intensity or feared to the point of the extreme. The women who did not wish to adorn themselves with such small, appalling garments had a suspicious tendency to be ill every year around this time. Others, the bolder ones, deliberately chose the smallest uniforms they could find, so as to swank their cleavage. Whether or not they had any.

As for himself, he was pretty much indifferent to trivial matters such as which clothes they wore.

Still; It was important that the rules were being followed, and that the correct uniforms were worn. (During the rest of the year this was not as important, according to the President and his closest co-workers - which was of great annoyance to Rufus.) If not, discipline would loosen gradually. If _one_ person demanded the higher-ups to make an exception in the rules for him or her, others would unmistakably follow.

...Which was _one_ of the reasons the lunch deliverer annoyed him a great deal. She wore white loose-fitting jeans, a dark red, long-armed sweatshirt with a random wintry insignia, logo or quote on it(he did not bother having a closer look), and a plain black beanie. Come to think of it, she wore that kind of casual clothes all year. Even in summer; only then, her beanie was exchanged with a cap and her sweatshirt with a t-shirt.

_The other_ reason she so noticeably irked him, was her _mood._ Mood was contagious. Upon being hired, had she not gone through hours of training during which she on numerous occasions was told to smile genuinely, no matter how much weighed down her mind? The darkness in her eyes and her face (or _frown_, to be more accurate) suggested otherwise. In fact, she had looked like an incarnation of doom all week.

"Your promiscuously moody way of delivering lunch is quite pesky. Is that all you can do?"

Her twitching reaction was obvious. Then, upon remembering his thoughts of discipline and the importance of following the rules, Rufus proceeded to give her an order. And that order, _if not followed_, would lead to her being fired. There was no need for people who could not act professionally.

* * *

Reno and Zack, and everyone else who coincidentally happened to be within sight of the currently enraged Rimm, immediately backed away when she passed by.

She was obviously on her way home. Steering the empty, yet noisy trolley with one hand, and holding a rather big uniform packet in her other, she quite literally stormed through the halls. There was am atmosphere of impending doom weighing her down, shrouding her in unapproachable air silently screaming about her discomfort. Her shadowed face scorned everything her eyes came upon, and if her gray orbs had ever looked cold before, it was _nothing_ compared to the look of steel that decorated them at the moment. They really couldn't be blamed for associating her with an embodiment of malevolence.

In other words, she _reeked_ of anger. Despite not knowing how to use materia or magic, her energy probably made her see ripples in the air in front of herself. She was not nearly as strong as many of the witnesses, but still radiated an _illusion_ of strength that they could never hope to obtain. Reno, as well as a very select few others, including an anxious Zack, either peeked around corners or looked at her from behind, where she couldn't see them.

And as if by terrible coincidence, Kurai found this behavior oddly appealing. Her mood actually made him step in between her and the glass elevator that was her goal. The second she and her trolley came to a halt, all other sounds appeared to cease to exist. What exactly it was Kurai saw, they did not know, but Rimm must surely have went out of her way to express with her face how much she _didn't _want to see Kurai at the moment. Reno's guess was that she flashed an expression with wide eyes(possibly insane-looking ones, shadowed by her trademark beanie), a backward tilt of her head so as to make sure she looked _down_ on him, and then an added (soundless) snarl. But that was just a hunch he had.

Kurai flinched, but maintained his faint smirk. To respond to her, he tilted his head back as well, and crossed his arms. Rimm's hands were now flexing.

...Was she going to punch him? Reno swallowed, barely aware of his own excitement; He _hoped_ she'd punch him.

With one arm she moved the trolley around her until it was behind her, then pulled it along as she stepped closer to Kurai. She didn't stop before they almost touched. When she was there she made a sharp motion with her head, telling him to get out of the way. To that, he moved only a little closer, until the two of them quite visibly touched each other.

Then his hand was caressing her face.

Her head jerked back and she ducked down, then grabbed his left leg by his black pants, still holding the uniform package under her other arm.  
She stood up abruptly, making sure to pull his leg with her - with as much force she could muster.

This resulted in Kurai (who had underestimated her, and was most likely underestimating most other women) falling to the floor. Before he could regain himself, Rimm planted a foot on his stomach. A groan of pain cut through the silence, and Rimm, while still standing with one foot on his stomach, lowered a little. She pointed at him, straight at his face, shaking her hand demonstratively. Appearing to be at loss of words that would be effective, she motioned backwards with her head again, and possibly also flashed another expression at the man. The others couldn't see; They watched the scene from behind. Then she thrust her foot in his stomach one last time and left, proceeding into the glass lift with her trolley and the package.

The fascinated Kurai was stunned when he sat up. He was a Turk trainee; Rimm's kick hadn't been dangerous to him. Still... What could have triggered Rimm's anger?

The number above the glass lift informed them that the lift stopped at the kitchen floor, but only for some seconds, then it almost immediately continued down. Once the number told them that Rimm was on the lowest floor, Reno and Zack emerged.

"Rimm has left the building!" the redhead announced, using his phone to catch a picture of the off-guard Turk candidate. Reno was enjoying this. _Thoroughly._ Kurai, the horribly bad imitation of a mix between himself, Sephiroth and some random pervert with formal speech issues, was on the floor. He was _floored._

* * *

When Sephiroth returned to his office and found his lunch on the table, he couldn't _not _sigh.

The reason he had left was Zack. It had been a while since the last time they had seen each other, so when the black-haired Soldier dropped by and urged the General to come with him, Sephiroth had done so without offering Rimm (or lunch, for that matter) a thought. And now he had just missed her, and the only thing of _importance_ she had left, was a small note. He pushed aside his wonder and vague amusement at the fact that she had most likely picked that post-it slip from _his drawer._ She had nerve. In a way he found entertaining. He did never use those anyway.

But his amusement was only brief. Although humorous, the note was not of the cheerful type.

_Sephiroth  
Sorry for __bothering you so much.  
You always __save me(thanks),  
but I just give you trouble -  
Next time I will try helping myself.__  
-Rimm_

That was what the note said, but on the back of the paper, scribbles and blotches of ink covered the entire surface. He could still decipher the words from beneath the scribbles. They formed the message he guessed she had _originally_ intended to leave:

_Sephiroth  
Sorry for being a pain.__  
You always help me with things__(thanks),  
but I just give you trouble.  
Next time I'll save my own butt.  
-Rimm_

Those words conveyed the same meaning as the words that were not scribbled on. Of some reason, she had changed her mind while writing and instead chosen to write more formally than usual. Also, next to her name on the front page was a scribbled dot. With his keen eyes he managed to make out a smiley. Not only had she used formal language (which was unlike her) and apologized _again, _even thanked him, she had even covered the smiley with a very concentrated amount of ink. He doubted the scribbles on the back of the note were originally a part of the message. Had she returned later and changed the original message, or perhaps changed it right after writing it? ...Why? What had made her change her message from nonchalant and carefree to formal and stiff? Sephiroth furrowed a brow while looking closer. It was all her handwriting; No one else could have changed it. She had done it herself.

Whatever was going on, something distracting was starting to tug at his mind. Perturbed, and wanting to get this obvious misunderstanding out of the world, he headed for the door.

Then he stopped, realizing by glancing at the clock above the door that Rimm had most likely left a fair while ago.  
...That meant he would have to wait.

* * *

Rimm was dressed in the red Christmas uniform.

...No, Rimm was dressed in a blood-red uniform of death, and later she would - _undoubtedly -_ be taken pictures of by random people, who would use the pictures to blackmail her for all next year. Until she was once again forced to wear something similar _next_ Christmas. It was too late to call in sick; Everyone had seen her healthy(or unhealthy) and energetic leave the day before. She would have to go through this. But how come the bigwigs didn't have to wear these humiliating garments? Even the Turks and Soldiers escaped.

The men's uniform was quite all right. It included a Santa hat, a belt, cheap boots trimmed with white, fake fur, a Santa coat that went to the knees, red pants and a white shirt. No mittens or scarf.

But _Rimm_, being a woman, had been given one of the women's uniform. Her uniform packet included (like the men's uniform packets) a Santa hat, a belt, cheap boots trimmed with white, fake fur, and a Santa coat that went to her knees(meant to be used to and from Shinra, and not _inside_ Shinra HQ). It covered her arms pretty well. Finally, as opposed to the pants and the white shirt offered to the men, she had been given a short, red tube dress trimmed with white fur on the bottom and top. Its skirt was full and loose, while the rest was supposed to be tight-fitting. Rimm had chosen a bigger size, though, but the dress still only went to ker knees. There were no stockings; Not even fishnet ones. That had forced her to have her legs. _Shave_. Her. _Legs_.

How she despised this. She was going to have to kill somebody soon.

At the moment she was standing in front of her mirror in the apartment she rented from Shinra. She wore the Santa hat. That was no problem. She wore the boots, too, as well as the coat and the belt. But she was _not _wearing the damned _dress._ She had almost literally torn it off after only glancing at herself wearing it earlier. If she chose to wear it, she'd look like a slut. She would puke every time she saw herself in a mirror. Rufus had told her to wear everything in the uniform kit, like the others had to, but... he wouldn't know that she didn't wear the dress if she wore the long coat all day. To wear the coat or not wear the coat inside the Shinra Headquarters was her own choice.

And then she discovered something.

Rufus hadn't said that she couldn't wear _other _clothes in addition to the uniform. It was with a sly smirk she pulled on the only pair of red pants she owned; Loose-fitting (as usual) and a bit too big, like the rest of the uniform. The belt came in handy. Also, she added a white shirt of her own. Now she looked like Santa Claus instead of some loose woman with a desperate need to show off her cleavage. The only thing she missed was white beard and some weight. But she wouldn't go out of her way just to get _that._ As for whoever dared to come closer to her than one floor with a camera in their hands, she would take the previously mentioned object with her to the closest paper shredder and make sure it was destroyed. Exhaling, Rimm pulled the coat tighter around herself and got ready to leave. Of course, she didn't wear the dress. Even if she wore it, the coat was long enough to hide it completely. So if she wore the coat all day(which she was planning to), Rufus wouldn't be able to tell that she _didn't _wear the dress. He'd have nothing to hold against her.

* * *

"You sure this'll work? I mean, shouldn't Rimm be here when we start?" Zack asked Reno, his voice hushed in the small crowd that had gathered.

Reno only flashed a lopsided smirk, fingering the camera he had hidden in his jacket. He and Zack, as well as quite a few others who knew her more or less, had noticed that Rimm's mood hadn't been that great lately. Obviously. So he had come up with an idea: To humiliate Kurai. They already had one picture of him, shot with Reno's cellphone, but a camera was better. That way, by forever trapping Kurai's embarrassing moments in pictures and then giving them to Rimm, she would hopefully cheer up.

"Nah, she doesn't want to be close to the guy. We'll just nail these photos and give 'em to her later. A good Christmas present." Two birds with one stone.

And how exactly did they plan to humiliate him?

By using a bottle filled with a certain substance. The green wine bottle did not only contain alcohol, but also held an 'unidentified' substance that had been specifically chosen for this little mission. There was no doubt this was a concentrated liquid, but the genetically enhanced substance was not dangerous. A Turk should be able to handle it. What neither Reno, nor Zack knew, however, was that some of the ingredients tended to _react _when mixed with alcohol. So, unaware that the effects of the medicine-like liquid was building by the minute, Reno and Zack took their time gathering people for their little stunt.

"What is this?"

That was the person they were all waiting for. Kurai leaned closer to a woman that looked _particularly _good, then flashed a smile that by most women would undoubtedly be called _extremely handsome._ In the men's eyes, on the other hand, he just looked like a flirtatious girlfriend-stealer. And fan-stealer. They weren't only doing this for _Rimm._

"_This_ is the beginning of a _challenge_, yo. For you." Reno was the one who spoke. He had handed the camera to Zack. In his own hands, he now held the bottle.

"...Oh? What might that be?" Kurai inquired, sounding interested.  
"Simple and quick: Drink this. All of it," the redhead explained, holding the green bottle up in front of him. Kurai's smirk fluttered away for a second, only to return with twice the strength.

"Might there be more in that bottle than only wine?"  
"'Course. Without something extra, this wouldn't _be _a challenge, yo." Below their exchanged words, a battle was already taking place.

"Nothing too dangerous, am I right..? Killing me could get you fired." Kurai's low voice indicated that his arrogance was reaching new heights. From Reno's point of view.

Reno walked over to him and held out the bottle, wearing an impressive, lopsided grin.  
"It's not _lethal._"

Flaunting his milky white teeth with a similar face, Kurai chuckled and accepted the bottle.  
"Very well..!"

Then, without a corkscrew, he removed the cork and started downing whatever was in the bottle. If it tasted bad, he showed no signs of feeling it. He didn't wince. A flash from the camera Zack held made Reno blink, but didn't disturb anyone else. Kurai had yet to stop for a breath. Now frowning, Kurai tilted the bottle back to let the last bit of the mysterious fluid run down his throat. He then lowered it and was rewarded with hesitant applause. People were still excited about what else than wine could have been in the bottle, and anticipation silenced their clapping as Kurai shuddered vigorously.

Swallowing and lifting his brows a few times, he blinked. There was no smile on his face, but rather a look of confusion.

All of a sudden, there was no longer a trace of any sort of expression on his face. Then his eyes opened completely (instead of his usual half shut ones) and he tilted his head back attentively. Reno hit Zack's ribs with an elbow, and the Soldier hurriedly shot a few pictures of the man. In Reno's mind, various scenes from horror movies flashed: Scenes including the transformation from humans to werewolves, or to vampires, or anything else, really. The flash of the camera caught Kurai's eyes at once, making him turn around to face them at great speed, while at the same time bending his knees until he stood in an offensive stance. The move was so fast that everyone in the direction he looked took a step back. They didn't know if they should cheer or be frightened. Reno narrowed his eyes. They hadn't put _that_ much of the stuff in the wine. The scientist he'd gotten it from had even told him that it would almost never react when blended with other substances.

Was the guy acting? Like usual?

"Hah..." It was more a breath than a meaningful utterance, but it caught their attention again nonetheless. It looked as if he was nosing out something. A select few began smelling the air too, wanting to know whichever scent he could smell that they couldn't.

Then he turned around swiftly once more, using his feet for leverage to quite literally kick his way towards the corridor closest to him. He paid no heed to the flashes of Zack's camera any longer. Whatever Kurai was chasing down had better be prepared for an impact upon being found. To catch it on tape, or get a picture of him on this predatory maraud, they had to move fast.

"...What did you put in there, exactly?" Zack asked.

"That's- It's a medicine that forcibly heightens one's senses - as a result, it strengthens instinct by tenfold. It's a version of the 'Hyper' medicine, yo. But by the looks of it, this is much stronger," Reno explained, his smirk a bit off. They'd have to hurry if they wanted to catch him.

* * *

Sephiroth observed the door with a faint scowl, his trained eyes picking up _everything._ Despite the fact that his office hardly let in any sounds at all(unless he kept his window open and heard the sounds of the city), he could still _see_ if someone passed by the door. The tiny vibrations of the door told him much about the employees passing. He could tell their speed by how fast the nearly unnoticeable movement of the door stopped. He could tell their weight by how strong or faint the movements were. If he concentrated, he could tell the difference in the vibrations, thus finding out if they wore normal shoes or high-heeled ones.

This manner of observing, of course, was to settle things with Rimm before anger took the place of annoyance.

The moment his stare picked up a movement that was different from that of the others, he knew it was Rimm and her trolley. And when she opened the door and peeked inside, wearing a Santa hat and a cautious expression, Sephiroth was taken aback to find that he was no longer sitting - he was standing, bending only slightly forward, with his fingertips resting on his desk. Also, by the look on Rimm's face when she saw him, his current features were most likely intimidating her.

"I'm comin' in..." And she came inside, wearing the flashiest costume she had worn since the fever incident with the mechanic-like Shinra outfit. Sephiroth moved his hands away from the desk and straightened his back, and was given an unwanted response:

"Sorry!" she exclaimed defensively, just as surprised as he was.  
"You have nothing to apologize for."

Some seconds passed, and she looked at him with suspicion, then disappointment. Was there a chance, a slim chance, that she thought he only said that because he didn't _accept _her apology?

"But I _have._ I've got many things to thank you for, too," she said, readjusting by standing up straight, like him. She seemed to be wavering between confusion, disappointment and anger.  
"What might that be?" he inquired, not expecting her to have much to say. But then she pulled her breath and spoke:

"First, thanks for your concern on the field day for the Soldiers, when the super-weak fiend bit me. And sorry for _letting_ the super-weak fiend bite me. Secondly, thanks for looking out for me during that blackout some time ago. Without you, my fear of the small baby would have made _me_ blackout. And I'm _very _sorry for causing you trouble when I had a fever. I don't know what I said, but I bet I insulted you in one way or another. Thank you for your never-ending patience when I do stupid things. _Thanks_ for bringing me to the infirmary. Really. _And!_ From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very extremely much, seriously, for dragging me out of the research library when Hojo came around. And I'm sorry for almost getting you caught, too. Finally, thanks for listening, and sorry for saying sorry so many times. Sorry if I've made the word lose its bounce because I've said it too much."

While speaking, she had reduced herself to something akin to a puddle of guilt and regret on the floor. At least that was what her eyes currently expressed that she was about to do.

He was stunned. Had she rehearsed? Still, there really was no need for her to apologize or thank him. He had done everything of his own accord, without her asking for it. Come to think of it, judging from her words, he _had_ helped her a lot. But she was not the only one who had been assisted.

"...Then, let me speak my thoughts as well. You have my gratitude for pointing out a temporary hiding place for me and Zack when he was foolish enough to steal my gear and run off to the gym rooms. Thank you for going out of your way to cook for the Soldier recruits on the field day. Also, thank you for babysitting the girl during the blackout, as if you had not, the one to babysit would likely have been myself. Thank you for entertaining me while having a fever, with fairy-tale names that I otherwise would never hear people call me or any of my co-workers." Here, Rimm held her hands on scarlet cheeks and showed a face of physical and mental pain while cringing, but Sephiroth continued, "I apologize for not remaining by your side until you woke from your fever; A better friend would surely have stayed. As for the library incident, I _apologize._ I was well on my way to strangle you. I might add that that was the reason I so abruptly left."

The puddle of guilt and regret on the floor had turned into a jelly in stupor.

Her stupefaction was obvious in her face, but he could trace nothing negative there. As for himself, he had rarely felt _lighter _inside. This was the sensation of having burdens lifted off his shoulders. There were still many left; Burdens he could never apologize for, because there was _no one to apologize to. _People he had killed. His guilt was caused by the fact that he had never been told the true _reason _he had waged war against them. Shinra versus Wutai; A war for power, indeed. But had there really been a reason to go that far?

"Goodness... Thanks..." was her sheepishly spoken reply. Sephiroth attempted flashing a smile and was rewarded with a genuine, lopsided smile from Rimm, whose cheeks were still red. That smile had been absent for much too long. The fact that she looked as relieved as he felt was, if anything, truly satisfying.

Things were returning to normal.

* * *

Kurai had never felt more alive. It was now, while literally _hunting_, that he could truly feel his blood pulse through his veins in sync with the beat of his heart. He could see everything, _hear_ everything. The smell of plastic trees, perfumed secretaries, unperfumed guards, forbidden fast-food; He could smell everything. With his lips slightly apart, he could even _taste_ the smells that he otherwise would never have noticed. He could feel moods. Sense them. His heightened senses were caused by a drug of some sort - from that bottle, obviously. But that didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Nothing. His rational mind was taking its leave, and for that, the rest of him was thoroughly pleased. Kurai himself did nothing to stop it.

From the moment he had consumed the contents of that bottle, he had been concentrating solely on the source of the darkest mood he could find. He wanted to feed on it; Devour it in its entirety in one way or another. He would find a worthy rival and, hopefully, something _else_ in the same person. Thus, when the darkness he sought just _evaporated_ and was replaced with a mood lighter than that of any other person within ten floors above and below, Kurai was truly bewildered.

That did not last.

If the person he was hunting down was stained with contentment and felicity, he would only have to defile her again.

* * *

Rimm was in a stupor she couldn't describe. After settling things with Sephiroth she had left with only a few words, which should have left her with an awkward feeling in the pit of her stomach. But she was feeling comfortable. Very much so, in fact. The red uniform, which had supposedly been the reason behind her 'mood of doom' yesterday, didn't matter any more. She had settled things with her great friend Sephiroth. Rimm smiled at the thought. At the same time as her bad mood left, however, all her energy had left as well. She had completely lost her need to let go of some steam_._

...Come to think of it, Sephiroth wasn't her only friend. She had outright neglected Reno and Zack lately. Were they mad?

The crashing sound of breaking Christmas decoration made her jump, and she looked over her shoulder to see Kurai dashing towards her, wearing a predatory expression; His face held no humor. Behind him, a decorated tree blocked the hall partially, and people's eyes followed the Turk candidate.

Realizing he was going for her, Rimm hurled her trolley behind her to block his way and ran off as fast she could manage with her big boots. With her Santa coat billowing behind her, she clumsily rushed to the closest stairs. Hearing someone shout a "Hey!" behind her, and something akin to books or papers falling(Kurai's doing), she increased her speed until her boots quite literally banged onto the floor every time she stepped. Loud and fast steps _were _better than silent and slow steps.

_What_ was he playing at?

* * *

**R.R. ...**


	16. Going Much Too Far

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy!

Try listening to music while reading..? Here we go...  
_(okay, this story - as I warned - is now rated M for mature themes, and for Hojo's plans...)_

* * *

Going Much Too Far

* * *

Rimm was already losing her breath. With her stamina she wouldn't last for long. If she could just stop and rest, only for a short while, then try to steer clear of Kurai again... From the few glances she had thrown over her shoulder, he was enjoying this thoroughly. His smirk had returned. But it was somehow different from before. He seemed to focus solely on catching up with her, and his brown eyes didn't leave her. Whenever she could, Rimm opened random doors while passing by them to hinder him and slow him down, but he had already been too close to catch up several times. At this rate, no matter what she tried, he _would_ get to her. And when he did...

If he was joking, she could _not_ see the humor.

"HA!" he shouted from right behind her, making her pulse beat ten times faster. Gritting her teeth, she forced her legs to move faster and headed for the stairs. Why didn't anyone help her?

She skipped many of the steps and landed one floor below on shaky knees, then immediately continued down the next set of stairs. She couldn't hear Kurai, but when she turned, she could definitely see him. By the time she had descended one more staircase, her lungs felt as if they were being pierced repeatedly every time she inhaled. Her muscles were already starting to get numb. Determined not to get caught, she kicked off one loose Santa boot while running, then the other one. It gave her better control and speed, but only a little. It was still better than nothing. At some point her Santa hat had fallen off - her hair went everywhere. It poked her eyes and tickled her ears, jumping and dancing every time she turned around a corner or glanced over her shoulder. With clenched fists and billowing coat and pants, she was about to run down yet another staircase.

But then Kurai landed in front of her, seemingly out of nowhere, his knees bent so as to soften his landing while at the same time readying his legs to dash after her again.

Inhaling sharply in surprise, Rimm jerked around and ran in the opposite direction - back where she came from. There was no way she could run back up. She was too tired to go _up _the stairs. Lunging at the closest door, she discovered that she was on her way to the gym rooms. Surely _someone_ had to be working out in there? Temporarily boosted by this glimmer of hope, she darted towards the room.

Then a hand tugged at her coat, and she instinctively turned and tore it away from her pursuer. While her hands were occupied he gave her an open-handed shove to the chest, which sent her straight to the floor. While her mind screamed that he was going too far, _way _too far, she started crawling backwards. Kurai was in no hurry; He walked closer as she backed away, his hands flexing and his face expressing something between predatory contentment and superiority, while slowly stepping closer to her. A confident leer was on his face, even when she got to her feet and turned, then started running again, still breathing heavily. He had never gone as far as to deliberately push her before. And his expression...

Now truly frightened, Rimm made it into the gym only to find it completely abandoned.

No one was there. Left behind were the broken vending machines, an unmanned desk, and several workout machines in all sizes and fashions. A mental image appeared in her mind; It felt like her hope had been sliced into pieces, only to be handed back to her in the shape of several small, frozen, bloody boxes. She didn't know what to do. It was a dead end. How to help herself in a situation like this?

She turned back to watch the door, expecting Kurai to be standing there. But then his trained arms were suddenly around her, one around her arms and waist, the other pressing a white, moist handkerchief to her mouth. He held it there, not paying attention to her futile attempts at freeing herself. Her feet were shoeless, thus not of much use when she kicked him, even when she aimed for his joints. The handkerchief was obviously to make her fall unconscious - or so she thought. The thing contained _something _sedative-like; She could smell it. Never had she thought her medicine resistance would come in _handy._ Her insomnia and sleepless nights suddenly paid off in the most unexpected way. Without her resistance, would she already be unconscious?

"Tsch..." Kurai muttered, sensing that she wasn't being affected. But he didn't let go. Rimm managed to free an arm and tried knocking her elbow into his stomach, keeping her eyes on the door at all times in case someone came by, but without luck. Her eyes were now teary, something she blamed on the strongly scented handkerchief. Where was her guts when she needed it? Was she just all talk, after all? ...If only she could free herself for some seconds and find some weights to throw at him – if only she could _do something.  
_

Kurai walked backwards, hoisting her up so she barely touched the floor with her sock-clothed toes. In a swift movement he removed the handkerchief, allowing her to inhale clean air only once before he delivered an unexpected sting to her neck. An injection – an item of some sort – then he immediately covered her mouth with his hand again before she could utter a sound loud enough to be heard. Some liquid ran down from where she had been stung. Something with a strong smell... Tranquillizer? Kurai pulled her back and crouched slowly, making a deal of letting her hear him breath right next to her ear. Once he was sitting on his knees on the floor, he rested his face against her neck. His smirking mouth traced it, not in a lazy way, but in a rough manner. The rigid touch only strengthened as he continued. Through the smell of the substance of what she guessed was fiend tranquillizer, Rimm caught a whiff of something else, something she couldn't categorize, but Kurai was its source.

* * *

Sephiroth had felt quite content until the clock revealed to him the fact that lunch time had already passed, his lunch was already devoured, and Rimm had already been there once and was most likely not returning one more time today. Was it really this morning that she had waltzed inside and apologized to him so heartily?

Shrugging it off was fairly easy, however. He had to deliver some finished paperwork to their respective owners.

Apparently, judging from the looks of the floors and corridors he walked through, _something_ had happened. From the whispers he caught, the scene was caused by the Turks and a nameless Santa-clothed employee. (The latter told him nothing – most of the employees wore that kind of uniform in the winter, so as to give the inhabitants of Midgar a good impression of Shinra.) Names he picked up included Reno, Kurai and Zack. He should have known. Doors were open everywhere. Even some of the larger Christmas decorations had been on the floor at one point; He could see that because silver tinsel was left there. Perhaps they had taken Rimm's complaints to heart. She had mentioned that this Kurai character had been bothering her for a while. She had even told Sephiroth not to worry about it. Could she be one of the culprits in this scheme?

Sure enough. There it was – the lunch trolley. Abandoned, half full, and with no one else paying attention to it. He would have to ask her what had happened later. Whatever could be important enough to make her abandon her work?

Sephiroth absently passed the trolley and walked into a nearby room.

The room was the destination of a stack of reports he had signed. Inside were countless TV screens monitoring each of the floors, with only a few exceptions. At the time being, only two guards were present. One was talking in his cellphone with his back against Sephiroth and all the screens he should be watching. He occasionally took a bite of the cold pizza in his hand, chewing fast between each short sentence he spoke into the phone. The other guard was asleep, his head resting on impressive piles of magazines covering everything from science and sports to news and comics. Barely visible under the man's head was a picture of a rather famous major in Midgar, with ink scribbled on his face to shape glasses, earrings, lipstick and mascara. These people did obviously not have a lot to do.

Sephiroth quietly left the small stack of papers next to the sleeping man so he would see it when he woke up.

Content that he had completed what he came for, Sephiroth absentmindedly glanced at the screens. Only by coincidence, he saw a certain redhead running around. In his heels was Zack. Both of them looked rather upset. They appeared to be searching for someone - or perhaps avoiding someone - if he were to judge by their sneaky, hurried moves. Sephiroth guessed their target was Kurai. What had they done to him? ...Speaking of which, where was Rimm?

Sighing, Sephiroth glanced at the sleeping guard and made sure the other one still talked in the phone. Then his jade eyes traveled quickly from screen to screen, searching only the floors with somewhat broken Christmas decoration and open doors, but with no results. People had already tidied up the worst mess.

A slightly anxious sensation made him frown a little. The cold feeling could easily be compared to how he had felt in Wutai right before somebody nearby was stabbed in the back during an ambush. Sephiroth would be a fool if he ignored it. Instinct was a useful thing - devastating for enemies. Thus, when his eyes wandered to the screen monitoring the gym rooms, _one person_ had better be ready – and able – to give him a really, _truly _good explanation. Sephiroth left(ignoring the loud shuffling of magazines as they fell to the floor as he did), leaving a visible dent in the door.

* * *

Rimm would soon be as close to unconsciousness as she could possibly get. Though she was awake, she was hardly able to move. What was more, Kurai was going to lengths she had never thought he would dare. He had quite literally _placed_ her on one of the training benches in the gym rooms, then held her in place while sitting on his knees in front of her on the floor. His callous eyes almost illuminated his face; They traveled all over her, relishing in whatever it was he saw, in a fashion that made it look like he couldn't decide where to start. Whether he was under a materia spell, affected by drugs, or was delirious she didn't know, and she didn't care. She was afraid, really _frightened_, and wished this day would just start all over again. Then she could have just stayed put, close to people who could help her or _get_ help, instead of running away to somewhere completely abandoned. A sickening feeling of retrospection was filling her mind slowly.

With anger and disappointment as her fuel, she sloppily ducked down and let herself fall sideways to the floor. Kurai's hands suddenly let go, giving her an opportunity. Her red coat trapped her for a moment, but realizing fully that Kurai's hands no longer restrained her, her eyes shot open and she struggled forward, more on four legs than two - insisting to escape. Her crawl was brutally interrupted long before she could reach the door. Both of her ankles were held in place, and she was being pulled back slowly. Now trembling, Rimm put all her will into kicking herself free of his grip. Her legs felt heavy as lead. He _did_ let go, but she knew _she_ had nothing to do with it. He didn't even reach for her. Why?

For the very briefest of seconds, she thought she had been saved; That someone had pried Kurai's hands off her and was currently staring holes in him with a gaze that descriptively told him how he would be fired and exiled from the Turks for the rest of his life. That hope summoned an image to her mind - an image of a person with jade eyes. Swallowing, Rimm struggled forward again.

But then Kurai took hold of her by the knees of her pants; Right under the white hem of her coat.

Not waiting for her reaction, he pulled down the garment, leaving her with only her coat to hide her legs. The intense need to scream didn't help - all she could manage was a petty whimper.

This time with shock and blind fear fueling her, she kicked her way forward as soon as she felt Kurai's hands and the piece of clothing disappear. Her heart was pounding fast, with enough force to make it feel like her chest was fighting an unseen enemy inside her, taking twice as much energy as usual. Ignoring how she couldn't sense her other numb limbs, she got to the open door and moved to her knees, then struggled to her legs shakily by holding onto the frame of the door. She was certain that if Kurai had wanted to, he would have pulled her down before she could even have touched the door frame. Letting go of it, she stumbled into the hall and hit the wall on the opposite side of the door, - shoulder first - unable to turn in time to avoid it. It might just have been her, but the hall looked dark. Was she losing consciousness?

Then, almost disgustingly gently, Kurai's hands took hold of her shoulders and turned her around so she faced him, with her back against the wall. Leaning onto her with a smile and eyes that darkened every second, he dove into her own frightened, gray orbs. If she hadn't seen him from this close, she would have sworn that it was impossible to look so astonishingly cold and unlikely longing at the same time. All of a sudden she felt sure no one was coming to rescue her at all. Kurai just looked too confident for that to even be an option - she was at the mercy of his hands. Again those callous eyes fed on her, while the mind behind them was filled with thoughts she couldn't read, but that she could only guess.

And she couldn't move. He was so close she felt his heart counter every beat her own heart struggled to deal, and his ragged breath pressed her closer to the wall every time he inhaled, forcing her closer to the utmost border of unconsciousness. Aware of this, Kurai pinned her to the wall even harder, letting her feel all of him despite her paralyzed state. His eyes almost closed, and his mouth formed a slim smile as he slowly moved his knees between hers. The coat was pushed out of the way as he let the both of them slide to the floor, she unwillingly straddling him, her limbs cold and numb. With one arm around her and the coat, and the other moving up one of her thighs and stopping at her waist, he pulled her closer until she couldn't pull her breath properly. She did not know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise her if she had tried kicking him again - without results. It was like she had been detached from her body - deprived of nerves that gave her contact with her limbs.

He was already grazing her neck. First with small, soundless pecks, then his teeth, while letting one of his hands slide underneath her underwear at her hip. Realizing _she_ had one hand placed on his shoulder, she let it glide down to his chest and tried pushing him off. He paid no heed at all. He didn't even notice. Feeling tears in her eyes, but refusing to let him see them move any farther than that, she quietly muttered for help. She would feel humiliated afterward, because even though people _did_ assist her every now and then, she was not one to _beg for help_ the way she currently did. Then again, she had never been assaulted like _this._ She really didn't know how to react or what to do.

* * *

He felt the evil presence of a fiend the moment he got to the gym floor. Somehow, Kurai's energy was mixed with that of something else. He had no doubt the science department had something to do with this. It had not passed him by that Reno had taken a slight liking to the monstrosities that were possibly going on in the labs - but to give Kurai something that made him emit such a fiendish energy was going too far. The fact that Rimm was being tackled by the Turk trainee did _not_ help. On the screen, Sephiroth had seen Kurai sitting in front of her, holding her by her shoulders. Whatever he was plotting was definitely not taking Rimm's well-being into consideration.

But he had _not _expected the white-haired man to be capable of going _this_ far.

The General had never experienced his determination wilt as fast as this - to say that he was stunned would be an understatement. To him, watching the man touch Rimm was worse than touching her himself, with his tainted hands.

Kurai was pinning her down, whether it was to the floor or the wall could not be decided at first glance. Rimm's expression was much too visible; She looked petrified, her eyes motioning to places that suggested she had lost control of her movement. Kurai, while Sephiroth watched, lurched closer to her, parting her unnaturally exposed legs even more. Noticing Sephiroth, Kurai glanced at him and leered, then moved from her neck and proceeded to her face.

After a short, taunting look at her and a very brief widening of his open-mouthed smirk, his lips closed on top of hers roughly, grazing them as he did.

Rattled, paling as he watched, Sephiroth subconsciously reached for his Masamune – which was usually attached to the back of his coat – so as to literally lunge at the trainee. The sword was not there, once again leaving him temporarily perturbed. Now angered at his own behavior, he let rage clean away the confusion and strode closer to the two. Taking hold around Kurai's neck to the point where the bones of an average person would have broken, Sephiroth pulled the face of the man away from Rimm's. Feeling that such an action was not at all sufficient, he took hold of Kurai's left arm and pulled that back as well, this time hard enough to hear something crack.

"_Ng!_" Kurai uttered, glancing at his hand. Then he used his good arm to lash out backwards, aiming only to hit _something._

Seeing that Kurai no longer held onto Rimm, and thus that it would be safe pulling him away from her, Sephiroth let go of Kurai's hand and grabbed hold of his spiky, white hair. Then he pulled him to his legs.

"Heh-" Kurai's laugh came to an abrupt, painful stop as Sephiroth stepped back and delivered a solid kick to his ribs and sent him flying, an action few had seen him do and even fewer had survived. Kurai, after experiencing a harsh landing on the floor, rolled until he hit the wall in the very end of the corridor. He remained still, but conscious. Hoping that the guards he had seen earlier still weren't watching the screens, Sephiroth impulsively sent a Water spell towards the man. The water appeared from thin air and went into the man's mouth and nose, and temporarily blinded him. It left him soaked to his skin. Holding his ribs, Kurai tried stifling his loud, rough coughs. Though other spells would have been far more appropriate(taking into consideration what he had just done to Rimm), they would have left him _dead._ Now it would look more likely that Rimm had put up a fight on her own by using water.

What now? Kurai staggered to his feet, his shut mouth forming a wide, yet pained smirk. Water with a light red hue ran from one of its corners.

Sephiroth could knock him completely senseless, but that would lead to questioning later. He _could_ get out of there with Rimm. That, however, would cause a massive amount of rumors that would undoubtedly stake his pride. He could already see the headlines before his mind's eye in various magazines tomorrow: _"General Sephiroth carried away a half-dressed woman..."_ Or worse. Also, his explanations would not mean _anything_ to the magazines. Thus, not only his own name would be tainted, but Rimm's as well. This was a stalemate situation. Then again, he could attempt to leave with Rimm and take another route, without being seen at all. That way he would save them both from trouble.

But Kurai - what if he told the others Sephiroth had a hand in this? ...Did he have enough pride to keep silent about this?

Unable to resist, Sephiroth let a small Lightning spell flicker and strike Kurai. He went down and did not stir again. Then Sephiroth turned to Rimm and lowered to rest on his knees before her. Rimm's head hung to the side, her eyes hidden by her fringes, and she did not move at all save for her irregular, slow breathing and upset frown. Her eyes were half open. But was she conscious? He waved a hand briefly in front of her, and her eyes stirred, but did not follow.

Shunning any sort of view of her legs, he pulled her coat in place. From her knees and down, save for her socks, she wore nothing. He made no attempt to check whether or not her underwear was in place. Instead, he hoisted her up, hesitant to hold her too tightly, and glanced around for any sign of her missing, red pants and boots. Would she miss her hat? He looked down at her, seeing that her head hung forward at an angle that didn't let him see her face. She would be unable to breathe that way if she was unconscious. With the same arm he used to support her back, he moved a gloved hand to her face to push her head back. ...But then came his options gradually became clear to him. He had to think of where to go next.

"_-aybe here..?"_

Sephiroth's head snapped up at the sound of approaching people. The alarming front pages flashed in his mind, telling him that there was no time to lose. With only one exit, namely where the people were coming from, Sephiroth saw no other chance than to turn around and walk towards a dead end. While striding past the gym rooms on his way to the wardrobes he and Zack had hidden in a fair while ago, he managed to pick a small item from his pocket. It was an explosive item, normally used in battles - but not this time.

He deliberately dropped it to the floor, as a fake (and unused) track. The others would have to solve this on their own. It would serve as a source of confusion.

Then he used a Fire spell, shortly followed by a Lightning spell, to create a large gash in the wall. It was large enough for both himself and Rimm. Calmly inhaling the freezing air that made its way inside, Sephiroth thought of the progress of his training the last few weeks. Then he stepped outside, into the air, with a rare and tingling feeling in his chest as gravity let go of him. He floated in mid-air - with Rimm in his arms - watching the snow and the people more than fifty floors below. Then, finding it ridiculous to do otherwise, he allowed himself to hold on to Rimm tightly as he lunged forward. Speed was necessary for them to remain undetected. That way, if someone happened to get a photo of them, it would only show a blur.

* * *

Reno stood by the suspicious hole in the wall, ignoring the medics behind him. The video tapes had already proven to be useless, and the guards hadn't seen anything of what had happened. When they rewound the tape, the screen was too dark for them to see a damn thing. They didn't know the reason. Kurai was badly hurt, and Rimm was gone.

"Reno," said a familiar voice.

The red-head turned and was offered a pair of red pants by Rude. He arched a brow and found the label. To his great surprise, Rimm's name was written on it. His mind buzzed with thoughts; First, Kurai had followed Rimm... Then, once they were alone, the man must have tried doing something with her. She must have tried resisting. But what about the hole in the wall? And the unused bomb they found on the floor? Did Rimm by any chance carry things like that at all times, and was it possible that _she _had bombed the hole in the wall? ...Why would she do that?

Reno came to a horrifying conclusion.

"_Suicide?!_ She _JUMPED?!_" he exclaimed, letting go of the pair of pants before almost jumping out after her. Rude held him back stoically while the man looked down. Gravity was already playing with him, taunting him. Somewhere that seemed like far, far away(which was actually outside the lowest floor), a small gang of people was singing carols. A crowd had gathered around them, making it impossible to see if Rimm actually _was_ lying down there, smashed, in a pool of her own blood. For all Reno and Rude knew, the crowd was not there for the carols, but for the sight of a dead body. Perhaps they were journalists and photographers and innocent people passing by, all coming upon a dead body bound to haunt their dreams and turn them into nightma-

"We should find her," Rude suggested, interrupting the thoughts of the red-haired Turk. Reno immediately calmed down at that, shrugging off his companion almost exaggeratedly.

Rimm, dead? _As if._  
She was probably hiding in a closet, desperately hoping all the people would leave with Kurai so she could come out and find her pants again.

"'Course. It's our _job._"

* * *

She was in his bed. _His own._

He had no other choice. Her address was still unknown to him. This was a fact leaving him strolling around everywhere in his apartment _except _for his bedroom. In the beginning, he had left her with a warm blanket on the sofa in hopes of seeing her wake up soon. However, it hadn't worked out that way. Why? Because with him walking around waiting for her to enter consciousness, he passed by her too many times. The living room was the heart of his apartment. To get to the other rooms, he had to walk by her. And he could not do so without glancing at her. Of this reason, he had moved her to his bedroom. Hopefully she would emerge from the room by herself before he began to walk in there as well – as he had done when she rested in the living room – to check on her.

And now he was in the kitchen, feeling clueless enough to be extremely relieved no one else were there to watch him.

* * *

Hojo's dilatory steps echoed in the empty labs.

It was past midnight. He loitered randomly, but not completely aimlessly, wearing a languid smirk revealing his dark, yet pleased mood. To say that he was happy would be a lie. The professor was merely _content_, and very much so. Things were playing along the lines of his plans so perfectly,_ unexpectedly _well. The others were all dolls playing out his unwritten manuscript - without knowing so themselves. He did not even have to arrange the most recent event. It was almost amusing.

They did still not know that it was _he _who (usually) continuously arranged things for Rimm. _He _was the one who had made sure Rimm got a job that happened to be at the upper floors. He could watch her from there, just like he watched his other specimen, who so conveniently and "_coincidentally_" worked on the same floors as she did. Sephiroth never ate breakfast, dinner or supper at Shinra Headquarters. Only lunch. Hojo knew other things such as this - things the others did not know of. Such as the very first meeting between Sephiroth and Rimm. When Sephiroth was - what was it? - eight years of age or so. It had angered Hojo at first. To add to this, one day, somebody had given him a message about an inconveniently timed check; The Turks had apparently decided to come and check on all the experiments. Therefore, to hide his Nova, the "shipmate" of Jenova, Hojo had taken the first chance he could get - namely _Rimm_. She was a person almost no one would miss except for the young Sephiroth. When the Turks had asked who (or rather _what_) Rimm was(for she was in a tube when they saw her), he had replied that she was one of the rare ice fiends that could be found in the Northern Crater – a fiend that carried many resemblances to human females. It was not by chance that he had let her stay frozen for such a long time. Not only did he have to take her out every now and then do adjustments, but he also had things cut out for her. He had spent hours and hours to prepare plans.

He knew Sephiroth had come to Rimm's rescue today, because immediately after hearing of the uproar caused by Reno and the others, he had hurried to the monitoring rooms (as was his habit when such small uproars occurred, since Rimm was spending time with this rebellious _Reno _character) – and just in time, he had found the right screen. A screen showing Sephiroth attack the newest Turk trainee, pick up Rimm and jump out of the Shinra Headquarters carrying her.

Of course, Hojo had replaced all videotapes that could give Sephiroth or himself away. The usual two guards did not try to hinder him; One of them was simply not there, and the other was fast asleep.

* * *

Sephiroth opened the door and walked inside without a sound. It was late. Rimm should have been awake hours ago. Now, the only two things keeping him from bringing her to hospital were his pride (coming to the _hospital_ with her in his arms, even if it was to _help _her, was not something journalists would ignore either) and the possibility of the Turks or Shinra finding out _he_ was the one who had taken Rimm to the hospital. Then they would question – or rather interrogate – him to find out why he had bothered doing so(instead of leaving her at Shinra's infirmary.

Why _did_ he bother? ...Foolish question. This was something he had brought this upon himself.

He did not need a mirror to know how his own face looked now. Hidden by silver locks and the shadows in his room, where nobody could see, his brows were lowered in a severe frown. His gaze traveled from the floor to the bed, and from the bed to the quilt in a tired fashion. His jade eyes found Rimm slowly, coming to a halt upon seeing that her eyes were completely shut now. The quilt was messy, telling him that she had moved in her sleep, though only slightly. Pooling around her on both sides was also her coat, and her hair was still on the pillow that he himself usually occupied at this time of night. She didn't look peaceful.

Her face bore no expression, but looked distant, as if she was silently waiting for something to end.

And he could not help it; He still saw the image in his mind of Kurai holding her and doing as he pleased. Rimm's lips were not swollen, not damaged physically, but that did not mean the Turk trainee had taken them _with_ their owner's consent. Her neck had red marks on it, marks forcibly passed to her by the trainee's mouth and teeth. Sephiroth found himself wanting to make a wall around her. _Consciously,_ he had created a rule forbidding himself from touching her. Simultaneously, however, he had subconsciously come to forbid others from touching her as well. If a person, anyone, were to come too close when she was like this, there was no guarantee he would not hurt them to keep them from approaching more than necessary. What else than that could he do to erase what Kurai had done to her? Sephiroth's eyes narrowed as his stare lowered from her closed eyes to her mouth. He remained like that for many seconds; a ridiculously long-lasting moment. An absurd thought entered his mind as he watched.

He had the _chance_. If he continued watching her, however, that chance would become an inevitability.

Perturbed, disappointed with himself, he turned and left the room.

* * *

**R.R.**

(-is petrified-)


	17. One Guest and Several Visitors

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

Thank you so much for deh reviews! (I seriously have to pause in between every other sentence to let myself thoroughly enjoy the bliss your reviews give me!)

* * *

One Guest and Several Visitors

* * *

The first thing Sephiroth had done after awakening(he had slept on his sofa that night), was to walk to his room to check whether or not Rimm had moved during the night. However, since he so inconveniently (today, at least) awoke before 5 o'clock in the morning, he had not expected her to have moved at all. At least not much. Slowly, he had moved from his white, very dimly lit living room, followed the short, darker corridor leading to the master bedroom, then he had entered the open door without a sound.

And standing there now, he let his gaze scrutinize his room, as if looking for changes there that indicated that Rimm had been moving about. It was dark - darker than the rest of his house - with charcoal walls and light gray, long curtains. The furniture was black, save for a few decorations. Through the window only specks of light were visible - city lights in all colors and (since it was Christmas) shapes. He saved the bed for last. And when Sephiroth's eyes moved to the black, currently untidy duvet that was supposed to cover Rimm and the white sheets below, he was distracted to find that only one duvet was apparently not enough - Rimm had obviously moved around in her sleep. The black duvet presently worked as some sort of pillow for her, supporting her head, yet at the same time partially covering her on each side, down to her knees. Her upper body was still covered well - with the red coat and the white shirt beneath it, which he had chosen not to remove - but the rest of her... A downward tilt of his mouth made its way to his face.

Sephiroth could still see the image of Kurai clearly before his minds eye:  
_He was already grazing her neck. First with small, soundless pecks, then his teeth, while letting one of his hands slide underneath her underwear at her hip._

...Though still covering what needed to be covered, her underpants were pulled too low for him to be able to watch her without feeling bad about doing so. She had slipped down, and her coat and shirt was stuck further up, leaving half her stomach visible. The fact that her underpants were still positioned as low as they were, meant that Kurai had been well on his way to ravish her as he pleased. Sephiroth's mind did not let him register how Rimm looked at the moment. Instead, he seemed to focus only on her violator - Kurai. When Sephiroth watched Rimm, like he was doing now, all he could see was Kurai assaulting her. As a result, he felt an immediate need to protect her. But Kurai was not there for him to forcibly remove. It was a picture he utterly failed to erase from his mind. If he had not been there in time, Kurai _would_ have ravished her. How to remove such an image from his memory?

Silently insisting to protect, or perhaps help her, Sephiroth strode to the foot of the broad bed and unhesitatingly bent closer to her. With one gloved hand on the dark duvet next to her, he moved the other to her hip and let it hover above her. Then he stopped, not sure how to proceed. Tardily he moved _both_ hands closer and found himself averting his eyes when he let his palms barely touch her. Moving each thumb into the garment at her hips - still not watching - he slowly pulled it up until he believed it covered her well - thus removing one of the traces left by Kurai. Then he moved his hands away and glanced at her face. She was still asleep. His movement, however, caused several long locks of his hair to slide off his shoulder and fall upon her legs, causing her legs to twitch below him. As if it was _he _who had been stung, Sephiroth's immediate reaction was to quickly withdraw. Wide-eyed, Sephiroth realized he was glowering - and only after standing still for the longest of moments did manage to simmer down. When he had, he immediately left.  


* * *

Rimm was almost completely paralyzed, unable to move. And it did _not_ feel comfortable.

To tell the truth, she felt very much like a random street cat hiding behind a trash bin to avoid the hungry dogs loitering around dangerously close to her. Only in her case, the trash bin was a huge bed. And instead of dogs, there was a strange, but strong aura she had huge problems recognizing. Even so, there was also a soothing smell that lingered around her, perhaps from the sheets, but the scent made her feel tense nonetheless. Her current recollection of the most recent events - including Kurai - made her want to curl up and shrink, and if she would have been able to move properly, she was sure she would be covering herself and hiding - as if to try and push away everything outside. Lingering in her mouth was a bitter taste of something she couldn't describe. Her lips were dry, but she didn't want to lick them at all, because of what Kurai had done. He had - unexpectedly and brutally - _kissed_ her, full on the mouth, and she hadn't been able to do a thing. Just _considering_ thinking about it made her chest feel like a dark, heavy, shrinking collection of something she didn't have the vocabulary to express. To keep herself occupied with anything else than the white-haired man and the things he had done, Rimm chose to focus solely on where she was. Despite being paralyzed she could still breathe, her heart was still pounding, and she could blink. The latter gave her a chance to look around. She just couldn't _not_ peek.

The room was unfamiliar. Still, since the last thing she could recall was the enormously, terribly, horribly, unbelievably huge relief that almost literally swept her off her feet (if it hadn't been for the fact that she was already on the floor at that time), she had a very vague idea where she could possibly, maybe, perhaps be.

Why? Because the last person she saw before her eyes shut was _not _Kurai. It was Sephiroth.

_Even after shutting her eyes, and despite being unable to feel his touch, she felt him carry her. She heard something crash, or perhaps explode, then she felt cool, stinging air make her eyes water. Her ears and her nose probably turned red at the same time. Even with her eyes half open, she didn't see anything else than Sephiroth's shoulder(and whenever she caught a glimpse of his chest when he turned in another direction, she shut her eyes). While moving, everything she saw gradually became a blur and she didn't really register how or when they stopped. After a while, though, a smell of brand new leather and wood filled her senses as the strong grip he had around her disappeared. Some time passed after that, and then she was moved again - this time to what she assumed was a bed. And she stayed there for quite a while._

The blankets, pillows and the soft bed were comfy at first, but not anymore. She wanted to get up, to turn around, to move to make her blood circulate like it should. But most of all, she wanted to find Sephiroth. To do what? Apologize again? Thank him again? Truth be told, she was extremely grateful. And ashamed. Who wouldn't be after promising him that she'd look after herself? ...Then again, they had already cleared all the small misunderstandings. Perhaps... he didn't mind saving her? ...Or was she being overly naïve by thinking like that?

Her eyes wandered to a small clock. It was not on the dark gray wall, nor on the small, dark wooden table next to the bed, but on the pillow next to her. The small object showed her that it was half past eight in the morning, but it also told her something else. Sephiroth had probably placed it there _for her to see it_. How else could it be placed so strategically, right in front of her? Rimm tried smiling, but found she couldn't. Her face felt like a bag of potatoes. She only hoped she didn't _look _that bad.

* * *

Sephiroth sat on the middle of his black leather couch, with one elbow on each knee and his jaw resting on his folded hands. His eyes were closed. Anyone watching him would undoubtedly think he was concentrating deeply. Which he _was._ As of yet, however, he had not quite managed to grasp _what _it was he was thinking about so profoundly.

Right now he should be at work. He had not even called Shinra about it yet. What could he say? No one would believe him if he said he was ill. He had _never_ been absent - not once. He could call and say he had no work to attend to, but that would be a lie. He still had some paperwork. Then he had another option, namely to tell them he had _other things to attend_ _to_. That was the truth, and however cliché it sounded, it was what he had been thinking about saying the most. But he would definitely be asked later what exactly it was he had been tending to. Besides, he had an "important" meeting to attend today. No excuses would help him.

It was in the middle of this silent brainstorming that somebody knocked at his door. The knocking was immediately followed by a couple of rings on the door bell, as if to make sure Sephiroth had heard.

He swiftly rose from the sofa and moved to the door and opened, glad to be interrupted by something that he might be able to use as an excuse when he called Shinra. His mood fell soon enough, however.

"Yo. You're wanted at Shinra HQ," said Reno.

"...Did you not consider the possibility of me carrying a phone?"

"I did. _I _even considered the possibility of your phone having _no battery left,_" the man countered. Sephiroth showed no signs of surprise on the outside, but figured that his phone might actually be out of battery, just like Reno suggested.

"I do own a telephone that does not run on batteries."  
Reno let his head drop and sighed slowly.

"Yeah. And you also own an answering machine that can scare the shit out of anyone, yo."  
This conversation was getting colder and ruder than he had intended to make it.  
"There is nothing hostile about it." Sephiroth was not fazed at all.

"Really? I talked and got no response. I thought you were listening to me without replying, yo! Just when I thought you were pissed enough to come and assassinate the dirt outta' me, I hear the famous _'beep'_. So much for the informative _'Leave a message after the beep'_ phrase! Heck, I left a message _before_ the beep, yo! And man, judging from your confused face, I'm pretty sure you haven't even checked your messages yet. When you find the one I left, you'll hear how pissed I was, yo."

"...And you might find that I call you back to leave something similar in return." His words sounded oddly monotone and warning.  
The red-head got the hint and backed away, then waved a hand leisurely in the direction of his door.

"So, that means you're staying home today?" Change of subject.  
"Yes." Then Sephiroth shut the door.

How simple. Also, it was highly satisfying at the same time. Still, taking into consideration that he _was_ the General of Soldier, his actions would undoubtedly be considered rude. Perhaps he should check his answering machine to find Reno's message. That would lighten his conscience and hopefully give him something to occupy his mind.

* * *

A quite content professor had done something completely out of the ordinary. He had given the other scientists the rest of the day off. It was unheard of. Hojo had not bothered to tell them why at all, he had simply shooed them away, and they had been too perturbed to leave inquiries as to why, much less complain.

Little did they know that after they left he took another look at a certain tape from the monitoring room. It showed the gym rooms, his Nova experiment, his first Jenova experiment, and a beaten-up Turk candidate that had been much too close to ruining everything. However, since Sephiroth had so conveniently showed up from thin air and taken Rimm away, the situation had turned from bad to absolutely perfect. To have the Nova host and the Jenova host together was beneficial – good for his plan. It was only a matter of time, Hojo hoped, until events would start picking up speed.

* * *

For the last three hours or so, she had repeatedly tried moving, but not with complete success. Still, it was better than nothing. At the moment she actually sat on the edge of the bed. With shaky arms as support, and only humiliation fueling her determination - she wanted to try to get up. She strongly disliked feeling helpless. Repeatedly thinking _'Where is my ability to move properly?!'_, Rimm welcomed the feeling of her face twitching vigorously. For now, she _could_ move, if only a little. But she could still not _feel_ anything. Thus, hoping and thinking that the floor would have no sharp, dangerous objects on it that she could step on without knowing, Rimm struggled to her feet.

Contracting and flexing her muscles as much as she could to keep herself standing somewhat upright, just in case, she wobbled closer to the open door by using all her available strength.

By the time she got through it and continued down the hall, her humiliation was weighing her down enough to make her face contort in pain that was almost physical. It only made her want to move faster down the small corridor in front of her. She could pretend she walked like this on purpose, right? ...Of course!

Right? ...Yeah, _right.  
_As if.

Holding onto the wall with one trembling hand as she came to a halt, Rimm looked into what she supposed was the living room. It was empty and cold. Frowning, she concentrated on the low temperature. Where did it come from? Why was it so chilly?

As if on a very inconvenient cue(only meant to humiliate her even more), Sephiroth showed up from a door just as she realized she was still not wearing pants. Cringing visibly, she silently cursed Kurai and thanked Sephiroth (for not having removed her long coat) at the same time. Her mind was clearly not in a state that could be described as top-notch. How did she look _right now?_ Only stupid? Or indescribably drunk? Insane? Horrified? Numb and swollen? Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed(she hoped it was of worry, but guessed he thought of her as foolish for moving about like she did). He started striding in her direction, around the expensive, dark wooden table, and past the black leather sofa.

_No!_ He had to stop! _  
I don't want help!_

"Doahn- hehlme!" ...So much for '_Don't help me!_'. If her face had worked like usual, her cheeks would have been flushing like there was no tomorrow. Hadn't her face obeyed her only moments ago? Or had it just tricked her into believing that? ...It was no wonder she couldn't speak properly.

"What..?" he implied, already standing still, not too close to her. Rimm bowed her face for him not to see her face, in case it had started burning after all. Would the General, upon being faced with a totally helpless and defenseless being, become completely clueless? She doubted it. It was like saying that a dog would start whimpering in the presence of a kitten. Or a bear cowering in front of a fish. Point conveyed, Rimm locked her eyes on her feet, praying goosebumps wouldn't appear because of the cold. Her legs were already trembling. Where to go now? What to say in a moment like this – a moment in which she clung to the door frame like a fly to fly paper? ...Or was this perhaps something she overreacted about? As... friends... they should be able to, perhaps, laugh at this, right? At least later, after this was all over.

Opening her mouth to speak, Rimm was interrupted as someone knocked at the door. She caught a brief flash of Sephiroth's deepening frown.

* * *

Sephiroth hesitated for a moment. From the main door, the living room was visible. Whoever knocked would see Rimm once he opened the door. From the way she looked, not even Zack would believe him if Sephiroth told the true story. He looked from the door to Rimm and their eyes met; Her steel ones and his jade. With red cheeks, she frowned and looked away, then tried stepping out of the living room not to be spotted by the visitor. Stumbling, yet still standing with two feet on the floor and her back against the wall, she sighed loudly. Sephiroth did not quite register that she moved into the bedroom again before the silence was broken with another knock at the door. The image of Rimm's face seconds ago was vivid in his mind, only it was oddly black and white, with the solitary exception of her cheeks. They were red.

Distracted, Sephiroth strode steadily to the door and opened it. He showed no uneasiness to the man waiting.

"...Your presence is required at the meeting... that the President has arranged today," Rude informed, wearing his sunglasses and standing straight and tall, not cowering.  
"If it is about the next mission, surely I can get the information later on from Tseng?"

"...There seems to be a matter they wish to discuss with you first." Rude did not exactly seem to enjoy conveying that message.  
"Then, tell them to call me. Good afternoon," Sephiroth said, not in an unfriendly way, then gave a small nod. This conversation was over. His words gave no room for additional comments.

"Good afternoon." A furrow between Rude's brows appeared, but he returned the nod. After a short, awkward pause, Rude turned and left, maintaining his stance even as he descended the stairs. Then the general closed the door.

Curious as to whether Rimm was still clinging to the wall(inside his room this time, and not in the corridor), Sephiroth approached and entered his bedroom.

She was on her knees on the floor, with her arms and head resting on the bed and her coat covering her quite well, not looking in his direction. And even though the only ones in there were the two of them, he found his face darken considerably watching her. It was not only _Rimm_ that he saw. In his mind...

In his mind... Kurai still held her in his grip. Him pinning her down, him holding her still, _him_ craving her, him... violating her. It was provoking him, angering him. To erase this image that so persistently clung to his mind, what would he have to do? Would he have to go far for such an image to ever disappear?

To remove what Kurai had done to her, would he allow himself... to... approach..?  
...If only a little?

Turning away, he looked into the living room, as if by surveying it he could hinder his thoughts from wandering further. When he and Rimm had arrived the day before, he had tried various light medicines and items to cure Rimm's paralysation, but none had worked. He had been forced to try using a Remedy - something that would cure almost anything. Had she not told him about this before? She had mentioned it only by coincidence, something about medicines and resistance. After using medicines only once, her body developed and became more or less immune. If she was poisoned, it would only be serious the first time. If it happened again later, she would be immune. Similarly, if she used medicine once, to cure illness, it would not work the second time.

Surely this was not a skill she had been born with. Sephiroth was not a fool; Hojo was behind this. What else had he altered?

"-orry. Eyem yusless." Realizing he watched the living room table with an odd level of concentration, Sephiroth slowly turned back to the mumbling Rimm.

"Apologizing will not help. Uselessness is inevitable after being so extensively sedated."

His voice was cold, devoid of sympathy. This angered him, not because he wished to show that he was, indeed, concerned, but because his frigidity meant he was covering up something. When he _consciously_ kept his face and voice calm to the point of showing a perfectly tranquil and emotionless face, it was to create distance.

In other words, he consciously tried distancing himself from her.  
That meant they were closer than they should, did it not?

"Yalwaysave me..."  
"What?"

"You. Alwaysave me..!" Her voice expressed pain. It was undoubtedly because he was making her repeat herself.

"...I do not. Technically, I have only _'saved'_ you twice. Yesterday, and the library incident with Hojo. Even then, I could have harmed you." He found he did not, under any circumstances, wish to say Kurai's name aloud. Yesterday, he had felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction when he forced Kurai off Rimm and hurled him into a wall. But was that all there was to it? Surely, his satisfaction had only increased when he took Rimm with him, away from Kurai and Shinra. Looking back, it seemed to him as if he had taken delight and satisfaction saving her. As such, she should really not apologize at all. But he would never say such a thing.

"When I hadafever..." she managed, sounding magnificently grumpy, in her usual comforting, yet currently slurred way.  
"I did not save you. On the contrary, I left you on a bench at the infirmary reception. That could be considered making things worse."

A short laugh and a single shake of her shoulders was her reply. She then hid her face in her hands and sighed(despite not facing him at all), making him wonder just what she was thinking about.

* * *

Seriously. Despite the fact that her face still felt like an overly stuffed, yet nameless dish, she still felt her cheeks redden.

Then a telephone called, and after a very brief moment of hesitation, the shift of leather told her Sephiroth went to answer it.

Rimm felt herself relax considerably, which took her off guard. She was a fool for not seeing this before - she had, after all, known Sephiroth for some time. Almost two years, if his year as a child counted. Sighing loudly one more time, she felt her ears ally with her cheeks to create a perfect imitation of the color of Scarlet's dress or Reno's hair. Speaking of which, Reno still viewed Sephiroth as somewhat of a rival. A poster of the tall, silver haired General still adorned the wall in the Turk's office, with a large number of arrows on it. The poster had shocked her when she saw it at first, about one year in the past. But come to think of it, the poster looked good.

In her mind he had been a friend(because when he first met her, he was so young), so she had never thought of him as handsome, but... Truth be told... Not only was he... well, _considerate_, he actually looked g-...

_Heck._

She needed a cane so she could hit her paralyzed head. Her brain was obviously decaying if she was think along those lines. He was a good friend. Friend. _Friend. Friendfriendfriend..._

_Heck._

This was _not_ an emotion that had appeared this morning. It was something that had grown gradually, slowly. Only _now_ she realized it was stronger than she wanted, or expected, it to be.

_Heck..._

She... really _liked_ him.  
...Did that make her a pedophile? Since she was actually older?

He had no time for someone like her. She had to borrow real clothes from him and somehow get home.

* * *

Tseng had called him just in time to abrupt his rampaging thoughts. Sephiroth appreciated it.

The Turk had informed him about one of several missions to take place in the close future, namely missions that would be the subject of today's meeting(that he would not be attending). He, Zack and a selected squad of 2nd Class Soldiers were to investigate the area south of the Northern Crater for Mako leakage. It was to find out whether or not a Mako reactor could be built there. Meanwhile, the other 1st Class Soldiers were separated and sent to other places on the Planet with squads of their own. All of them were sent to places with towns nearby. However, since the town closest to the Northern Crater would be Icicle Inn, it would not be possible for Sephiroth's squad to conveniently come and go as they desired. They had to bring tents and food, and preferably someone who could make _warm _food without poisoning them. Therefore, Tseng needed to know who he wanted to bring as cook.

And Sephiroth had specifically requested to use Rimm as a _last _resort. Anyone would do, except her; It was simply too risky to bring her.

* * *

After finishing his call, Sephiroth had opened his closet for her to have a peek inside(he had caught her staring at it when he entered the room). To her surprise, the only things in there were leather coats and pants that were too big for her. There was only one pair of workout pants. Even if they were to fit her, would she dare to borrow one? Or would that be unacceptable? Either way, she was currently sitting on the edge of his bed with a blanket on her lap. It helped boost her confidence somewhat – or at least lessen her humiliation – by covering her. And it kept her warm. She wondered how Sephiroth felt about it all.

A question she didn't ask aloud, was _'Where are my pants right now?'_. That would sound awfully awkward. The pants were most likely still in the Shinra HQ. What about Cow-Ray? ...He – that person... he had forcefully kissed her. And he had been about to take it a step further. Where was that person right now? ...What had Sephiroth done to him?

"How did you get us here?"  
The question made him throw a glance at her.

"Levitation," was his honest-sounding reply.

"...Pfft," she uttered, followed by a single chuckle. He couldn't fool her that easily.

Sephiroth immediately read her expression. Every part of her face, though still numb, obviously told him she was indirectly saying _'I don't believe you at all'_ or _'HAH! As if!'_ or even _'Duh. Yeah, right.'_ And how did _she_ know that he was reading her like an open book? ...Because he shut the wardrobe door and walked over to her, then got a firm grip under her shoulders and pulled her to her feet. Still holding the warm, comfy blanket in her clenched fists, Rimm blinked as her eyes whimsically fluttered to any other place than his face. She feared that if she did, certain surfaces on her face would flush red. Then his grip tightened a little, which made her blush anyway, because she was absolutely certain that he could feel her heart almost literally punch his palms repeatedly and rapidly, as if she was a random, tiny animal about to be swallowed by a predator. Her smile had turned into something resembling an uneven line. Her feet didn't even touch the floor.

Then, very slowly, the door behind him started sinking. The ceiling came closer.

When she realized they were hovering in mid-air, she immediately (yet weakly, without complete control) grabbed onto his upper arms, still clutching the blanket. Instead of being wrapped around her, it was now halfway around _him, _functioning as some sort of wall conveniently separating them them. He still held her at half an arm's length. The blanket didn't touch her anywhere else than on her arms and hands. Her feet hung in the air with nowhere to touch and and nothing to use for leverage. Her mind screamed at him to let her down before she became too heavy for him to hold, and she started reaching for his feet (to stand on) with her legs, but he wasn't close enough.

"Aaa_aai_ believe _youu_!" she managed, her eyes swirling as her fingers clutched the leather arms of his coat. Her grip was not that strong yet, but enough to emphasize her point. When his grip relented only slightly, she tried to strengthen her grip more, as if she was afraid he would simply let go.

"Hn," was his answer, more of a chuckle really, in a voice that sounded either pleased or amused. Perhaps he was smirking, acting like a friend again?  
As a friend, perhaps he was trying to amuse her.

She still didn't want to look. Instead, she kept herself occupied by watching their feet and the floor below - or at least what she could glimpse of it past the blanket.

Sensing her uneasiness, he lowered them both to the floor and slowly, patiently placed her on the edge of the bed. When he did, their eyes met. He looked like he usually did; His keen, peridot orbs scanned her face, and she simply stared. With both corners of her mouth pulled down only slightly, with wide, colorless eyes, she stared at him, feeling like embodied awkwardness(if such a thing were possible). Speechless, she hardly noticed that he let go. Only when he averted his eyes and glanced at one of his arms, she realized that _she_ was still clutching _his shoulders_. This was also the reason why he hadn't withdrawn.

Unable to stand this fact, she let go hastily, and he pulled away. The blanket landed on her lap again and pooled around her. By now she should be blushing, but found that she actually felt cold and dizzy instead. Instead of turning red, she paled completely. She probably looked like she was going to throw up any minute. She wasn't, but she still couldn't get rid of the feeling of having levitated. Well, _she_ hadn't levitated. _Sephiroth _had. And now her insides were fluttering stupidly because he had taken his time to show her. She swallowed several times without a sound, trying to rid herself of the feeling.

"Say something," she heard him say. She caught herself in the act of looking him straight in the eye while frowning. She had no idea what to say. She was starting to feel extremely inferior again.

_...Like a weak-minded person._

"_Some_thing." Her shaky voice made it sound like she was suffering from a combination of motion sickness and insanity. Her face paling even more did not help. Now, the reason she felt her condition spiraling down faster and faster was (apart from the fact that Kurai had drugged her) that she had an unanswered question torturing her slowly.

_How would she get to her apartment?_

That is, with what was left of her dignity intact? She couldn't go without pants, even if her coat went to her knees. It was too risky and too cold. However, she couldn't borrow pants from Sephiroth, because they would definitely not fit her. That was her excuse, but the real reason was that she could never get herself to ask him to lend her one of his high-class, expensive, custom-made leather pants that all die-hard fans of his would _kill_ for. She couldn't even borrow his workout pants. He probably used them every day when he trained, so she didn't dare to ask. Also, she didn't want to ask him to go buy some new ones for her(because she had no money with her he could use, and surely it would also be unbearably embarrassing for _him_ to buy normal pants in a normal store when everybody could see that the pants were too small for _him_ to use), and she didn't want to ask him to get the pants Kurai pulled off(Shinra employees would ask too many questions). Finally, she didn't know how to explain where she lived, so she couldn't ask him to go home and fetch her some clothes, either.

"Is being here really making you feel that terrible?" Sephiroth interrupted, somewhat silently, making Rimm aware how her face must have looked.

"No..." she replied, getting a hold of herself.

"...Come," he summoned, motioning for her to follow as he left his room and headed for the door leading out. She struggled to her feet, and while walking(or wobbling), she wrapped herself in the large, red blanket. Was he throwing her out? No, he wouldn't... Right?

He opened the main door and she followed as he walked outside. After shutting the door behind them he showed the way up some narrow, steep stairs to the_ roof –_ which by the way would be cold enough to make her bones feel like icicles, she was sure. Clutching the blanket as if it was the only barrier between herself and future death by low temperature, she miraculously made her way up the stairs and _outside_, then stopped by the tall General. The corners of the roof were covered in what had once been water, but which was now tiny ice needles. They looked like grass made of snow. Heavy, black clouds hung above, silently warning them that soon, snow would be falling down upon Midgar - dark, polluted snow. When Rimm breathed, the coldness made her breath visible; Tiny, misty clouds appeared for a second, then vanished.

"Where do you live?"

With her teeth clenched to avoid a clattering sound, she pointed briefly in one direction through her (or his) blanket.

* * *

He did not look where she pointed, but rather watched _her_ while thinking how exactly he should carry her. On his back, over a shoulder, bridal style, or by holding her under her shoulders again? The latter was too dangerous, as the distance to the ground was too great. Still, he doubted he could make her jump onto his back willingly. Bridal style simply sounded wrong. To add to this reasoning, he had already done that. Thus, narrowing his eyes briefly, he stepped in front of her and bent to one knee, took hold behind her knees and rose to his feet. She conveniently fell onto his right shoulder, shouting _"Wait! Wha- Stop!"_ and similar exclamations. Her blanket, which still enveloped her, kept her arms locked. She was absolutely helpless.

It gave him a sensation of having the upper hand. _He_ was in a position of complete advantage and control, no matter how many nervous yells she uttered. To Rimm, if he wished, he could do anything.

Ridding his mind of all irrational thoughts and letting reason take utter control, he let his feet leave the ground and levitated, _flew_, where Rimm had pointed. She was remarkably cooperative, obviously wanting to escape from both the height and the cold. In fact, she provided him with accurate details as to where she lived - despite being unable to move her arms and point the way. It only took them some a short minute to find it, and yet another minute to find her apartment inside, where he put her down by her door. The second she was inside, she staggered into her room and put on the first garment she could find, namely some washed-out black sweatpants. Then she returned to the small entryway(which by the way lead to her living room, like in Sephiroth's own apartment). After she handed back the blanket, they simply stood there, Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and his brows arched, and his head slightly tilted, as if he contemplated something. If his guess was correct, this was probably the closest thing to curious she had seen him.

"Thanks for taking me home. Even if it was really cold on the way." Her voice, if possible, sounded grave and jocular at the same time(and still not under complete control). Very slowly a lopsided smile appeared. He rewarded it with an equally slow smirk. She seemed relieved to be back where she lived.

"So, uh, see you tomorrow. If I still have my job. I didn't get to call in sick today." At some point, the awkwardness from earlier had faded. Perhaps it was because she felt more comfortable in familiar surroundings. Still, even though she said goodbye, it did not at all seem like he was unwanted. This simple, natural – and maybe unintended – show of kindness was something he was able to delight in.

* * *

**R.R.**

(-shifty eyes-)


	18. Perseverance

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

Your reviews make my heart feel bigger... :)

* * *

Perseverance

* * *

Things had gone smoothly all week. The missions plans were almost complete and only small details remained. The Soldier members had been carefully selected so as to bring out their potential, and they had all received messages as to where they were going, what they were going to do, and who were their bosses. Sephiroth was the leader of the team going to the Northern Crater. Zack was coming as well, and he would take over Sephiroth's position if something were to happen. Of course, Sephiroth would not allow for accidents to occur. A number of teams had been made, and the few remaining Soldier members stayed behind in Midgar. There were not enough 1st Class Soldiers to give them all a leader. Therefore, once Sephiroth returned, he would immediately be sent off on another mission. Such was the life of a General (and Soldiers in general) every time a new year was starting; Whether it was a short, safe visit to monitor the reactors close to Midgar, to find potential reactor spots other places, or simply to stay behind and guard the Shinra HQ - everybody had to contribute to Shinra's future economy in one way or another.

Either way, with the missions came more paperwork. This meant he had no time to make all the practical arrangements alone. He had left it all to Zack – who was more responsible than he sometimes acted – and Tseng. The latter only had one thing to do, though, namely to find a suitable cook. He had specifically requested that Rimm should only be used as a last resort(as an excuse he had skilfully described how she was too careless; for instance spending too much time with the likes of Reno and getting in trouble with Kurai, which Tseng could undoubtedly relate to without getting suspicious). Also, Rimm was needed at the Shinra Headquarters to deliver lunch, or else certain higher-ups would turn to their subordinates and demand she be punished.

For now, he would need to finish readying his paperwork for when he returned from the mission. They would leave in the afternoon.

* * *

Rimm had just returned the food trolley to its designated spot in the kitchen when Tseng had unexpectedly walked inside. Despite his surroundings, his demeanor expressed dignity that was superior by far compared to any of the cooks present. His black, clean suit and straight back instantly caught the complete attention of the others. Rimm was no exception. Once he stopped - certain they were all paying attention - he spoke:

"I will keep this short. It is requested that one of you accompany a Soldier team to the Northern Crater, and that during the stay, you provide fifteen persons – including yourself – with enough food not just to stay alive, but also to remain strong and well fed."

He was met with deafening silence.

Rimm glanced around, only to find that the others did as well, curious as to who would volunteer. To most of them, wandering around in the deep, cold snow while being able to do _nothing_ if big fiends appeared was not too appealing. Still, truth be told, Rimm really wanted to come. The reason was, of course, Rapunzel. She wouldn't tell anyone about that, though. Not even Rapunzel.

"How long?" one quiet voice asked.

"The span of the mission can deviate between three days and a week at most, if everything goes according to plan."

"...So why can't the Soldiers make food for themselves?" the head cook asked, her arms crossed so as to show she was in charge. While Tseng was in the kitchen, his power did not exceed hers. The chief did, however, twitch as Tseng narrowed his eyes. His frown was faint, but visible. Answering an abundance of questions simply wouldn't do if no one wanted to volunteer.

"The number of Soldiers needed has been calculated very carefully. Eight of them are to guard the team at all times. Of these eight, two will function as guards north of camp, two will guard the southern side, two of them guard the eastern side, and the final two will be guarding the areas to the west of camp. This way, if one is injured or worse, the other will only have to warn the others via his phone or simply by shouting, as none of the guards will be too far away from the main camp. As for the remaining seven, four will help complete the _mission_, and two 1st Class Soldiers will be in charge, guard the camp and supervise the others to complete the mission successfully. Finally, one will cook food and keep the others fed. Before you ask: None of the four Soldiers who help complete the _mission,_ will have time to cook food. They have already been given individual tasks which are not to be told to anybody in this room, with the exception of the one who volunteers to come along."

None of them smiled. Tseng's frown was gone, and he looked straight at the chief in charge, who had given him the question. Rimm had a question herself. She wanted to ask when the Soldiers would sleep, but that was probably irrelevant. But she _really_ wanted to know. Perhaps they slept in short shifts, especially the two-man cells who were guarding the camp. And then the four men with the undisclosed _mission_ let one person sleep at a time. Zack and Sephiroth would either sleep in shifts or not sleep at all. That was what she guessed, anyway.

"Who volunteers?" Tseng inquired, perfectly calm and undisturbed. No one looked at him except for the chief. Rimm – who stood behind all the others – listened to the mumbled comments that sounded close to her. Apparently, the high defense (all the guards) Tseng had told them about was strictly necessary, because the fiends and monsters up in the north were far from weak.

Still, she truly wanted to come. Especially now that she knew she would be guarded. She would be careful - she'd stay close to Zack and Sephiroth, unless they ordered her to do otherwise. Another reason she wanted to come along (she admitted) was Kurai. She hadn't seen him lately. But once Sephiroth was gone, perhaps the man would come back?

Therefore, when she saw that no one else did, she slowly raised an arm.

Tseng's eyes only flickered in her direction, but he said nothing, and soon moved his stare back to he chief, who was the only one who definitely _couldn't _come, lest there be complete and utter chaos while she was gone. Annoyed, Rimm stretched her arm up just a little more and waved it a little. She was standing in the back of the room, though, so Tseng still didn't turn to her. It was as if she was being ignored. She raised her arm until her elbow was no longer bent, and she waved her hand some more. Surely, Tseng couldn't _not _see her. By now, all of the others were standing completely still, staring at her. Even her boss - the chef.

"No one?" Tseng asked.

Rimm's brows almost connected as she frowned, now waving vigorously with both arms. There really was no going back this time. She couldn't cower now.

"...You?" Tseng asked, looking at a person in the opposite direction of Rimm. The young woman, apparently the most petite, pale and fragile person he could have put his eyes on, shook her head and shakily stepped backwards.  
"N-no, really, I..." Rimm was pretty sure the trembling voice of the woman made Tseng utter a soundless sigh, and she glimpsed the muscles in his jaw tighten for a bit.

"Me! Pick ME!" she shouted. Now, the others didn't simply look or stare at her, but many also turned to her completely, as if to wordlessly show Tseng she was actually there. And finally, he relented.

"...Fine, then. Meet in front of the headquarters at three o'clock. Preferably before."  
Tseng spoke these words while walking towards her, and swiftly found a single information sheet in the pocket of his jacket. He handed it to her and left with no more words. What was the meaning this?

...Either way, she had succeeded in the end, and cocked her head a little while smirking.  
Then she realized what the heck she was doing,a nd her smirk was replaced with a twitch as she skimmed throught he paper.

* * *

Sephiroth had been too busy to speak more than a few words to her from the moment he had seen her yesterday, and for twenty-four hours following that. To Rimm, it seemed like he kept himself busy with the other Soldiers. In the truck, or rather minibus, she was in the very back while he sat next to the driver. On the ferry to the northern continent, he had somehow vanished into thin air, and when they got to land, they left the bus and loaded the luggage into some vehicles more fit for rough terrain. It had all gone by so fast. They arrived at the base of some rugged mountains covered in trees, snow, plants, cliffs and whatnot, and got the luggage on their backs(Rimm only carried her own backpack, which by the way wasn't too heavy at all compared to the other baggage that contained everything from clothes and food, to mission equipment). After a horribly long and cold climb, they arrived on the other side of previously mentioned mountains and _walked _to Icicle Inn(struggling through incredibly much snow on their way). Icicle Inn, a town which - to Rimm - appeared heavenly warm and dreamy, welcomed them with open arms. Then, as soon as they came, they _left_. Of _course _they left. To Rimm's great chagrin. Then traveled north until they got to the great crater.

Rimm was starving and dead tired by then, and didn't relish when thinking of the fact that _she _had to cook for the others. What the _heck_ had she gotten herself into again? Her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't even open the zipper of her backpack properly. She felt like a sloth with incredibly long claws trying to pick up a maddenigly round, tiny marble ball.

They were currently in a cave, not too far away from the entrance - in case they needed to escape for some reason. A strong, cold wind was flowing past them, never relenting, making Rimm repeatedly thank Shinra for being 'generous' enough to provide her with warm clothes. In her case, the warm clothes included black boots, a black fur hat that covered her ears(the fur was fake, obviously, but she didn't really mind), startingly yellow mittens(so they wouldn't lose any), black pants and a thick, warm, furry-hooded, military-patterned jacket. It was too big for her, but that wouldn't bother her. The reason behind this generosity, however, had to be that president Shinra expected them to find something interesting in return – something he could earn money on. She bet that even though the clothes were warm, the quality probably wasn't that good. While cooking she also noticed that because there were only two exits that needed to be guarded(one at the cave entrance and the other further in – the cave _could _be the home of a fiend or two), there were more Soldier members in the camp than it was supposed to be.

The food consisted of cheap soup, tons of scones(which they had brought with them, so Rimm wouldn't have to make any), water and coffee. Some requested for the water to be heated, so she did. In cold weather, cold water wasn't the smartest thing to drink, she guessed. As for the fire, Zack had used materia to start it. And to be frank, despite the strong smell of smoke(she sat on the side of the fire where the black, thick smoke blew in her face), she _didn't _want to move to the other side. It was better with warm smoke than freezing wind. Occasionally stronger puffs of wind passed as well, bringing along unnaturally large flakes of snow. It was like being in a horrible fairy tale that she would only thoroughly enjoy once she got back home. _Tales _were always better than the real thing. At least so far.

Oh, how she looked forward to pack down the food and go to sleep.

...And _oh, _how she hated the fact that she was thinking weak thoughts like that. Sephiroth would be disappointed in her non-existent perseverance. Making a determined (or actually grumpy) face, she landed a hit on her lap with her gloved, surprisingly warm (finally!) and clenched hands. There was no way she would complain.

And she would, to the best of her ability, do as Sephiroth said(or Zack, if Sephiroth continued being too busy to speak to her). That way she would stay safe. And hopefully warm.

* * *

A day later, they once again moved. The Soldier members had concluded that although the Mako levels were extremely high in the crater, they were too unstable and precarious to use for electricity. No Mako reactors would survive the harsh climate, nor the rapidly changing flow of Mako. Owing to this, they moved away from the crater and carried on south, down the slippery mountain sides. The snow went past her waist most of the time, but at times she stepped in holes(not cracks or gorges, as the Soldiers fortunately knew how to navigate), which left her completely hidden by snow. Zack came to her rescue all the time. Though she found this thoroughly embarrassing(she was dressed in a military-patterned marshmallow that only let her wiggle, and not move properly), he displayed great joy in it. He laughed and let himself be entertained.

Occasionally he told similar stories of his girlfriend and how she sometimes did things out of the usual. Apparently, Rimm and his girlfriend were both stubborn. His girlfriend, however, was slightly more naïve(judging from the vague way Zack phrased it, Rimm guessed his girlfriend was also _kinder_ than herself), whereas Rimm appeared to be somewhat boisterous and 'humorously direct'(or, in other words, _rude_ - she guessed).

"So there's no Mako at all here?" Zack asked disbelievingly. They were at the foot of the crater-mountain. Currently, they were having a break on top of the fresh snow remains of an avalanche, so they couldn't stay for long. Broken trees were stuck in various places, making the area vaguely remind her of a more or less bald, enormous, white, not so lively hedgehog that could start moving again any minute. She didn't tell anyone that, though, as she feared they'd think she was affected by hypothermia or similar. Her thinking of the avalanche as a porcupine was simply a result of lack of rest. She usually didn't sleep much at all, but they had walked enough to make her notice a slightly more apparent sway in her walk than what was normal.

"Wrong. There is Mako here, but it has materialized into crystal. No electricity can be made using them," Sephiroth informed.

The words roughly translated into something else for Rimm, namely that they had to continue walking half a day _again._ Which meant she would get tired and sweaty _again._ Which meant her need for a shower would increase _again._ Which finally meant she would keep feeling uncomfortable every time the others came to close. Still, she obediently walked in the middle of the team all the way down south, in the direction of Icicle Inn. Instead of going up to the village, however, they continued south-east into a forest.

The trees there were _white._ Some were so tall she couldn't see their tops even when she leaned back.

"Oookay. This forest is the last spot we'll be checking for Mako. This'll be our camp," Zack informed, and Rimm half expected weary, tired sighs from the Soldier members. But none uttered a sound of discomfort at all. Personally, she was abnormally preoccupied with the ghost-like trees surrounding them.

"Okay, Seph?" Zack asked as he dropped his humongous backpack to the ground. It looked like he was going to stay there, even if Sephiroth might not approve of the new camp.

"I have been here on a previous occasion..." he muttered silently, turning to get an overview of the area.

Gigantic shells and conches were scattered about, resting against the eerily glowing white trees(that Rimm still found highly fascinating), and cliffs seemed to stick up of the dark ground at random. Their camp was right next to one of these cliff-like boulders; An oddly shaped piece of stone. The trees, too, carried branches which seemingly grew in all directions, but still their clean, unscratched stems still stood tall. Rimm found that she wanted to touch one of them; The glow was tempting to the point of the extreme, which was actually childish. Sephiroth turned and stared right past her, at the boulder that was in the heart of their camp.

"The last time I was here, it was to guard a team of construction workers while they put up a solid barbed wire-fence to keep away the fiends from the village south of here," Sephiroth explained. His eyes were fixed on the boulder. He knew the others watched and listened attentively.

"So... This fence, should we get past it and camp there instead, just to be safe?" Zack asked, suddenly ready to pick his bag up again.

"No."

"...Why?" Zack asked with a slight hint of grumpiness, only now showing a hint of how weary he was.  
"We should have already passed the fence already. If it was still here, I would have seen it. It is gone."

In other words, someone had removed it. Or _something_, as not many humans wandered this far willingly and without protection. It was obvious that fiends were to blame.

"Was the fence strong?" a Soldier member asked, his face hidden behind the visor of his helmet. Rimm's attention moved from the trees, to Sephiroth.

* * *

Sephiroth looked at the man.

"Yes." To be honest, the fence was so strong that Sephiroth had really not been looking forward to see it again(and pass it). For a fiend, no, even a large number of fiends, it would be practically impossible to get past. It dug deep into the ground, not only through earth, but stone. Also, despite not being awfully tall, a magic barrier was made to repel anything trying to get over or under it. This spell was made so that it would not stop working until all Mako in an area was completely gone. That was not likely to happen. Still, one fiend _could_ manage to break through with force - if it fed on others that were just as strong as it over a very extended period of time. The price it had to pay was being cut and ripped by the barbed wires.

But he could feel no such thing as malicious energy anywhere near them. No fiends. They had vacated?

After talking with Zack about the situation, Sephiroth sent eight Soldiers, all 2nd Class, to guard the camp. Two guards in each direction. That left seven in the camp. He and Zack were leaders, two Soldiers (at the moment) were preparing the necessary devices for the gauging of Mako levels in the area, and two were catching up on sleep. Finally, Rimm was offered a break from cooking. The amount of food was running low, but it was more than enough to keep them fed until they left. Speaking of Rimm, he had worried for nothing. She had yet to get into danger.

If danger did arise, however, Shinra would send helicopters to come pick them up. All he had to do was call.

Sephiroth's right hand absently moved to his cellphone. The other hand was ready to grab the hilt of his Masamune at any time.

"HNNnn!" The familiar, suppressed voice triggered a switch in his mind, which automatically made his brain order one of his eyebrows to arch more than what was strictly necessary. His full attention was on Rimm and her own little problem.

A bug.

Sitting on the ground, frowning deeply, with wide eyes and her lips pressed so hard together that it was _obvious_ she tried to hold back another exclamation, Rimm looked with fear at the large insect which flew around her head. She didn't wave her hands randomly; Instead, she punched at the small challenger continuously, without stopping, missing all the way. Then the bug, which looked like a much larger version of a beetle, decided to land in front of her on the ground. Rimm jumped to her feet and stepped on it, her face betraying that she really, truly despised what she was doing. A worrisome crunch sounded from beneath her shoe, and she quickly withdrew her foot and jumped back.

The beetle still lived, and took off from the ground to continue chasing Rimm.

She frowned again, her eyes still wide, and she started moving out of its way. The fact that she tried not to seem suspicious only made it more amusing. Her speed increased and she went out of sight, behind the large boulder(behind which the others were currently gauging Mako), and when she appeared on the other side, she was running with great determination.

"Heh..! Sometimes I wonder what she's thinking," Zack revealed cheerfully from beside him.

The two 1st Class Soldiers watched as Rimm took a sudden turn, still being followed by the beetle. She came towards them and didn't stop before she was behind Zack. Sephiroth couldn't help it; A small sting of pain grew inside his chest when she did not even offer him a glance. Then again, _he_ had avoided talking with her pretty much the whole time, ever since the mission started. It might be wrong of him, but he still wished she felt the same pain as him when he did not talk to her. He also wanted to be the one to alleviate it.

"The thing is _following _me! It won't die!" she explained, but her shoulders slumped when Zack grabbed the beetle from the air and inspected it. Whereas its presently vibrating wings were held in place, its long, thick legs moved fast enough to make Rimm shudder with great vigour.

Sephiroth and Zack both turned to look at her. Her weakness was bugs? Or only big bugs, such as beetles? Perhaps the insect had simply annoyed her, and that was it.

"What... is it..." Her voice sounded awfully faint. Perhaps their expressions looked a little too strict.

* * *

Their faces were not threatening at all. Both of them simply looked like they were thinking deeply. Maybe they thought she was really weak and pitiful, as she hadn't even managed to crush the bug when she used her foot. Still! It was _not _her fault! After all, the bug had some sort of super-strong wings to protect itself. Her kick was usually strong(she knew so because she had kicked Kurai on a select few occasions). The sound of something being crushed was, perhaps, a sound that the beetle made on purpose.

None of them spoke, but the two 1st Class Soldiers _did _exchange glances. Were they thinking that she was attracting attention? As in fiend attention? If any fiends were nearby, Sephiroth would know. It shouldn't be a problem as long as she was inside the camp... Their lack of response angered her. Even if it had become completely normal for Sephiroth to not speak to her during this trip(she was beginning to suspect it had something to do with Tseng sending _her_ as a cook), _Zack _was also quiet. She wasn't a child - even if she tended to get into the spirit of one by relishing in small, seemingly unimportant things. Also, she had made food for them all for days, and no one had complained. Having Sephiroth and Zack look at her like that made her want to pay them back, somehow. Maybe take a small revenge.

...Perhaps she should do just that?

"You... You know, don't you..." she asked in a silent, grave voice, averting her face from the beetle to the ground, while changing her expression from an annoyed to a worried, hesitant one. Zack instantly picked up the sound of her voice and spoke:

"Yeah... You could say that..." he lied, his voice comforting. Rimm didn't let her expression change.

"I mean, it-... It's not like I meant to, it just happened..." she continued, trying to sound as if she was turning really ill at ease. Their feet shifted – or at least Zack's did, she wasn't sure about Sephiroth's – and she looked away.

She had to come up with something. Anything that would throw them off their feet would do.

"Don't worry about it, things like that happen to many... We'll be there for you, 'kay?" Zack comforted, now starting to turn genuinely worried(or so he sounded), even if they had no idea what she was talking (or lying) about. But now there was no going back. Even if she felt guilty already. A small part of her, the part that was angry with Sephiroth for not talking to her, had been whispering things in her ear occasionally. Things that could make him talk to her. In the good way or the _bad. _And now, a very impulsive idea had formed in her mind - one she might regret later. Pulling a joke to the lengths she was about to do... Well, it was stupid, but it would give them a wake-up call and remind them she was capable of thinking and speaking for herself.

"I mean, becoming pregnant wasn't what I intended to at all, but-" she continued, looking seriously pained. In reality, she was suffering badly from both her rapidly growing guilt _and_ her half-hearted attempts at taming the roaring laughter that she feared would soon escape her.

Oh, how she needed to see _their faces._

She held her breath and shakily looked up. Zack's face was long, and his mouth was open, shaped as a small circle. His eyes were astonishingly wide. Sephiroth stared at her, his brows only slightly higher than usual. In spite of this faint reaction, though, his pallid look made a heavy impact on her. Her unreleased laughter withered and died in an instant. Instead, she slowly pulled her mouth into a small smirk that was would hopefully convey to them that she had just been joking. Zack understood her look immediately.

"Rimm, you... Lying is _bad,_" Zack stated, pointing at her with the beetle and making her back away.  
"Says _who_?" she retorted. After all, Zack said had answered _'Yeah'_ when she asked _'if they knew'_. Even when there was nothing to know.

A hollow chuckle sounded from Sephiroth, who shook his head and looked down.

"I suppose that was entirely deserved..."  
Rimm stopped, speechless, but in a way that wasn't bad. Her chest – or was it her lungs? – felt like it was having a pretty good time. As if she was being healed inside. Her guilt was gone.

"Hah... Well, sorry about that, anyway." She felt like she was floating.

"No problem, as long as you don't repeat it! That kind of stuff is _serious!_" Zack said, freeing the beetle and reaching out to - perhaps - ruffle her hair. Or hat. She stopped him by holding up her arms protectively.

"No! I don't want to infect you with my bad hygiene! I haven't had a shower for days!"  
"...Well, none of us have, so-"  
"Yeah, but _you_ guys are somehow still clean. I feel dirty," Rimm said, her face almost sulky.

Zack grinned and shook his head, and then she realized her words could be misinterpreted. Before she could say anything, the black-haired man walked off while chuckling, presumably to check on the others. Rimm turned to Sephiroth, thanking the cold air for keeping her cheeks nice and cool. He observed her sideways, not turning fully to her. It made her feel incredibly self-conscious.

"Physical stains are easy to clean," he stated in an absent voice.

For a moment her mind raced. What? Was he talking about them all being muddy? She watched him while thinking. What he meant about those words _could_ be that '_mental_ stains are _not_ easy to clean', right? Rimm observed him, knowing that her gray eyes weren't still, but rather moved around so she wouldn't feel forced to suddenly avert her eyes. His eyes were too strong for her to hold for long. What he was indirectly saying was that he... was stained? He had been hurt mentally? Rimm knitted her eyebrows as she thought of how she had vanished for years, leaving him behind without a single word of warning.

"You were hurt by someone? Was it my fault?" she asked quickly, yet seriously, frowning while attentively searching his peridot orbs for answers. He must have found her face amusing, because he flashed a smirk, but shook his head and let the smile flee from his face.

"I am not hurt. I have hurt others," he said in a way that made it sound like he was finishing the conversation.  
She knew what he was talking about. In the past, he had killed. Not just one or two, either, from what she had heard. For him, there was nothing more to be said. Knowing she might regret it later, however, Rimm frowned and cleared her voice. Figuring she didn't want her voice to sound all shaky and undetermined, she decided to use some more confident words(which by the man with whom she spoke would undoubtedly be considered rude and improper).

"Hey... _You_ did not taint yourself by... _killing_. The _deaths_ tainted _you_. Did... Does that make sense?" she started, glancing at him. A strong chill seemed to stab her in the back when she saw him watch her with eyes wider than usual, attentively waiting for her to continue. Perhaps she was only imagining it. She had to be. Maybe she was, in fact, insulting him right now. Then again she doubted anyone had talked with him about this subject before, face to face.

"I mean, _you..._ If you hadn't done it, _somebody _else would have. You relieved them of that burden, while protecting your men to the best of your ability. Right..? My point is it's not your fault. You didn't have a choice. Yeah, it's Shinra's fault." Her voice was steady, but quiet. Quietly wondering if anyone had ever tried telling him it _'wasn't his fault',_ she looked away for a moment. She wasn't sure if what she said made sense to him, or if it was smart talking about it at all.

"I see. But I cannot agree with you."

Her head jerked up and she looked him right in the eye, shocked. Why..? Was she that dumb? Visibly gritting her teeth, she averted her eyes again and took a deep breath. Still not watching him, she thought of other things she could say. How about _'The Wutaians must have felt honored to fight you. If you feel regret, won't that affect the honor?'_ No. That would be really bad if he had attacked them from behind or ambushed them, or even attacked them head on without them noticing it. Then they hadn't died a honorable death. Or..? ...She _could_ try saying it was Shinra's orders - no, _no!_ - anything but that. He had killed in order to protect his men, and not only because he was ordered to. She was sure of it. Rimm sighed, frustrated. In the end, Sephiroth had _killed_. It was not something she could even imagine doing. She could not know how he felt.

"Hey... You feel guilt even now..." she started, then peeked up. He watched her without blinking or moving.  
"If you're still alive, it's to repent, right..? If you're alive, you can repent."

Oooh, if her words weren't what he wanted to hear... she'd die... If not by his sword(because she doubted that would happen), she'd be killed by that horrible feeling in her throat that seemed almost physical...

* * *

It did make sense.

He had thought of it before. To repent, that is. But he had killed so many that repenting would take more years than his life would grant him. Simply dying was not enough. He would have to suffer the same agony that they had suffered. He would have to live. It did not matter if somebody tried to kill him; He would survive, with the pain _fresh in mind to his dying day_. And if possible, after death, he wanted to return only to relive the pain and continue to repent. Was that a foolish wish? Completely ridiculous, even? Perhaps repenting was not possible in the form of a spirit - after one was dead, that is.

If so,_ living as long as he could_ would have to suffice.

To think that _she_ would be the one to suggest repentance to him after all this time of not thinking about it.

"I listened closely, and found something big in something small..." he muttered, barely audible, half pleased and half annoyed. He had thought of atonement before, only not to this degree. She had triggered that train of thought.

Figuring that he had found "something big in something small", namely something important in Rimm, he found himself wondering what _she_ saw in _him_. Was he the General, someone big and unapproachable? A friend? Or, perhaps..?

"And I looked closely, and in something big, I found something small and meaningful," she said, then made a ridiculous expression: She looked overly solemn, but her mouth formed a joking smirk apparently meant to mock him. Or was it, perhaps, to take away the seriousness of the situation, while still not deriving the words of their truth? If so, she had managed to amuse him beyond what was usual. He found he liked this new-found asset of hers, however small and coincidental.

Her expression slowly changed as she looked away. Something had caught her attention. She was much closer to the glowing, white trees now than she had been earlier. Turning to him again she wore a face requesting permission.

"May I touch the trees?" The odd request made him look at the trees more closely, so as to find out what about them triggered her curiosity.

"Do as you wish-" And she walked over to it, glanced at him, and let her palm rest on the surface of the previously mentioned plant. After approximately ten seconds, she removed her hand and watched it.  
Was she by any chance checking if the white glow would attach to it? Her bafflement was oddly soothing. He found he could stand there for quite a while, merely watching as she stared at her hand, which was now shining - if only a little.

Of course, now that such a thought entered his mind, something bad simply _had_ to happen. Because just when things were beginning to develop into how they _should_ be...

"Se-_SEE-rgh-,_" sounded a raspy voice from the west, belonging to one of the guards. It came to an abrupt stop almost as soon as they heard it.

* * *

**R.R.  
**

Se-SEEphiroth, I presume?


	19. To Follow Orders

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters.

(-buzzing head-) Say, sorry about always describing people's expressions so much... :) I think it's because I watch anime/manga and draw too much. All constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!

* * *

To Follow Orders

* * *

In what seemed less than ten seconds to Rimm, Sephiroth had ordered Zack to go gather the guards from north, east and south of the camp and then initiate full defensive actions around the Mako gauging instruments. After giving the message, he had proceeded to give a nod in the direction of the boulder behind which the Mako experiment was taking place, and Rimm got moving, pale as a sheet and not planning to disagree. To her, it looked like he had absolutely everything under control. The authority and confidence he displayed were not fake. They were completely authentic. It was as if absolutely no one could question him, much less go against his will.

Then the silver-haired man literally flew east, dodging the trees as easily as the winds on which he rode, the argent Masamune looking alive in his left hand as he maneuvered it at his side. Then he was out of sight.

Rimm made her way around the cliff-like boulder, to where four of the other guards were. A couple of them had been woken up seconds ago, but it didn't show; Their gear was where it should be, their weapons were ready and their stances steady. Through the visors of their helmets she couldn't see if they were afraid or not, but guessed that for now they were only waiting for orders. She inched closer, feeling out of place. One guard stepped aside and gestured for her to pass him and go closer to the thing she had guessed had something to do with Mako measurements. She hadn't heard anyone say what it was, only what it did; it gauged Mako levels. A short distance away Zack spoke in his cellphone – or maybe a radio or walkie-talkie – with the other guards. He was doing as Sephiroth had told him to; Calling back those who were guarding the camp. Now that they were in danger, their first priority was to stick together to protect Shinra's Mako machines. And their lives - but hopefully, the situation wasn't that serious.

* * *

Sephiroth observed the area where two of his subordinates were supposed to be positioned. It was empty, and none could be seen. Then an unnerving sound of something slowly cracking reached his ears. It was not a sound of a twig snapping, but rather similar to the sound old, thick trees usually made in strong wind. Only here, there was no wind. The trees were tall and old, but not thick and most definitely not moving in any way. To him, it seemed the sounds were coming from below the ground. That would explain what they had heard earlier... The shouting Soldier, whose call for help had been forcibly interrupted.

"_SEE-rgh-," sounded the raspy voice..._

Recalling how the view presently before him had unfolded in front of him the moment he got there, he guessed both the guards had been _swallowed_, so to speak. Two spots were on the ground, and on and around them the earth was much fresher. He could only imagine – it was likely that one of them had been drawn in and then the other had attempted to help, but then he, too, had been pulled down. Other than the patches on the ground there was not a single trace of his subordinates. They couldn't be seen, nor heard.

But that did not mean Sephiroth was too late.

On the contrary. He could feel their energy pulsing. Also, he knew they could take a beating. Which was why, without waiting any longer, he found an Earth materia and initiated an Earthquake spell.

The pebbles on the ground began skipping and their jumping quickly advanced in intensity as seconds passed, until the ground shook so violently that the trees started cracking from their base and up. Roots snapped as parts of the ground sunk and others rose, leaving rocks and mud sliding down the rapidly growing, deep ravines. Sephiroth stood tall on one of the rising cliffs, scanning the moving stones and ground for the two guards who were his responsibility. There – only for a second – they were visible. Sephiroth jumped off his elevated cliff and swung his Masamune in a vertical line, aiming for the rocks and shells that were in between him and the two others – or where he estimated they were – and made his way closer. As he moved he couldn't _not_ notice the movement below, in front and on both sides of him. Were those shadow-like fiends what had pulled down his subordinates? ...It would be reasonable to assume they were capable of using spells and items if they could move this easily underground. Earth spells, most likely. So they were... earth fiends.

Sephiroth landed on a boulder protruding from the wall of earth, and searched it for life. Surely enough, both Soldiers were there. But the fiends had been there as well.

"General Sephiroth!" one of them called, relieved and tense at the same time. He was stuck in the earthen wall to his neck, with only one of his arms free, and in his hand Sephiroth could see a glowing Materia – clearly utilized against the fiends at fault for his current position. His helmet was off and nowhere to be seen. Only a small stripe of blood ran from beneath his forelocks through his muddy face. Other than that he seemed completely unhurt and fine.

The other one was dead.

He was further away, stuck in the wall of earth as well, only with both arms free. Like his arms, his head down hung limply. His throat was cut halfway through, leaving streams of dark blood to run down the gorge while blending with the earth on its way - his head would have fallen into the gorge had the wound been deeper. The mud below the man was nearly completely black after absorbing his blood. Sephiroth only looked at the man, whose helmet hid what Sephiroth knew was an expression of shock and pain. Wide open eyes that would never shut again - in an almost sarcastic contrast to the expression of those lucky enough to die peacefully.

"Gavan – he..." the living one started, but stopped as Sephiroth gave him a faint frown and shook his head once. The man, whose name Sephiroth remembered as Migu, froze as his suspicions were confirmed.

"He... helped me..."

Remaining utterly calm, yet on the inside thoroughly disappointed that he had failed protecting them both, Sephiroth shut his eyes. Migu had probably seen the fiends slit Gavan's throat, but refused to believe he was dead. This was something Sephiroth was used to. During the war waged against Wutai, he had not only seen his men get killed, but he, too, had _caused_ deaths. And he had, without mercy, forced the Wutaians to watch helplessly as he slaughtered one after another. When the war was over, he was not only a Soldier, he was a mass murderer at Shinra's whim. How could he have forgotten, and how could he ever forget? ...How could he allow himself to stand unaffected and still right now, with eyes so cold and calm that he had to keep them shut to avoid having his surviving subordinate think he was cruel and absolutely heartless?

He turned away from the guard before opening his eyes again, with his sword in his clenched left hand, and scanned the gorge for shadows of fiends he could not detect. Whatever they were, they maneuvered skilfully around the still-standing, glowing tree roots, boulders and gigantic conches that protruded from the elevated cliffs and earthen walls. The earthquake he made earlier had stopped, leaving them in unnerving silence.

Now the enemies were these pathetic, phantom-like creatures hiding out of sight without giving off any traceable energy. Fast, cunning beasts.

* * *

What she wanted to ask the most was _'Isn't he coming soon?'_, but that would either sound too inappropriate, impatient or childish, or it would be dangerous, as her voice could lure out the fiend. Or fiends.

The six others who Zack had called with his phone had arrived, making them twelve in total. A short 'beep' from Zack's cellphone made Rimm's eyes snap to him.

"Sephiroth?"  
"_Zack."_

The sound of a landslide in the distance stole Zack's attention from the phone for a second.

"_Turn on the speaker,"_ Sephiroth ordered, even though they could all hear him, if only barely.  
Zack did as he was ordered.

"_I am fighting a number of earth fiends utilizing Earth spells and physical attacks-"_ He paused as he was interrupted by a buzzing sound. _"They conceal their presence completely."_  
That explained why they hadn't noticed anything. Then, how did he manage to counter their attacks when they came for him? Instinct? Rimm suppressed a shiver when she realized that was in reality likely.

"We understand. What about Migu and Gavan? They okay?" Zack asked.  
"_Only Migu is alive,"_ Sephiroth replied. Zack grit his teeth and frowned deeply, an angry expression taking the place of his concerned one. From what they could hear, Sephiroth was talking while fencing off the enemies. _So Gavan was killed..._ Currently, the General defended Migu while speaking with them, which left him with only one arm to attack and defend with - against more than just one fiend. And still he sounded as if it was nothing.

"_Zack, I am only fighting decoys. Judging from the direction they keep coming from, their source is close to, if not under, the camp. I am telling you to contact Shinra for transport helicopters, then locate and exterminate or block the source. The rest of the team will assist Zack, unless Zack orders otherwise."_

The rest of the _team._ She wasn't in the team, so she should get the heck out of there._  
Huuhuh..._

Or definitely stay put. Stay put. Put, yes. This wasn't the time to worry the others with useless acts.

* * *

Sephiroth had freed Migu and Gavan, though it was too late for the latter. The General was not planning to leave anybody behind, whether alive or dead. Migu was not really ready to fight – he was holding onto the ground with all his might, staring at his friend next to him. This was because Sephiroth had told him to remove Gavan's helmet (_without_ looking at Gavan in the process) and use it himself. For now Sephiroth was fighting alone, chopping of root after root that the fiends used for shelter and hiding. He could still not feel any malicious energy from them. Also, it seemed to him as if the fiends were merely hunting them down because _they were there. _Sephiroth and his men were intruding, so to speak. Still, he felt no hostile tension coming from them. Had they no emotions, be it anger or felicity?

_Such numb creatures._  
Yet, who was _he_ to think such words?

Then, in one of the ravines left by Sephiroth's Earthquake spell, he saw a _fence._ A solid, though rusty fence with barbed wires, torn and pulled in every possible direction. It clothed many of the roots and in its grasp many rocks and shells were kept from falling down. Were the fiends responsible for ruining it? ...Just how many fiends had been defeated – and devoured – for these small monsters to get this strong? Sephiroth clenched his jaw as a mental image of himself in Wutai surfaced for his mind's eye to see. In a horrid way, they were acting just like _he_ had been acting back then.

No wonder their team hadn't found any fiends on the way down. Despite being small, the fiends were certainly able to consume much larger creatures.

But then, if there were no other fiends left in the area, just how starved were the monsters he fought now?

* * *

Zack looked up in shock, gritting his teeth, his eyes showing utter disbelief. In on hand he held the cellphone he had used to contact Tseng of the Turks – who had agreed to _try_ to persuade the President to send some helicopters – and in the other he held his bloodstained broadsword, which now hung down with one end in the dark gray mud.

The scene in front of him had unfolded in less than a second.

What looked like vines, hundreds of small and larger vines, all of them unnaturally _alive_, had surfaced from the ground at the same time. Several of the guards had been impaled. Not only through arms or legs, but their torsos - hitting lungs, hearts and stomachs at the same time, only to exit their bodies via their backs, through their spines. It was an instant kill attack - one that had already killed three of the Soldiers. All were trained guards. Zack, too, had been among the targets. The blade of his sword was still warm from piercing through the vine that had come straight at him from below – he hat cut through it almost lengthwise. Two others were also hit (though their wounds were not as serious) and were now restrained on the ground. They were still conscious, but were being held down by the vines – some which went straight through many of their limbs and still kept moving and wiggling. What to do? What had he learned about this?

How could he free them without damaging them further?

He dashed forward, raising his sword sideways and plummeting it down into the ground next to one of the restrained guards, steering his sword _under_ him – under the ground – effectively cutting off the vines and thus stopping them from moving.

"_Medic!_ Get over here! You, guard him!" Zack shouted, immediately proceeding to free the other trapped guard. On his way he sliced though vines that kept rapidly appearing to whip everything in their way. Trees fell and one conch after another was either smashed to pieces or carried into the air by the few vines that were large and strong enough – the humans could only save themselves if their reflexes were fast enough. The medic did as he was told, shortly followed by another. Glancing at the relatively small Mako gauging device, Zack caught sight of Rimm, who was curled in a ball next to the machine. Other than the fact that she was trembling, she was unhurt.

It struck Zack that the vines seemed to come from below the great boulder in the middle of the camp. The main fiend was under the boulder? Was the boulder holding it down?

"_Sephiroth!_" he called at the top of his lungs, having no time for cellphones.

* * *

The General stopped dead.

Already, three things were occupying him; The fiends, the two Soldiers behind him, and the camp in front of him. Then Zack called his name, giving his mind a fourth thing to be concerned about.

There had been _fifteen_ of them in the beginning, all whom looked up to him and expected him to protect them should they need it, for that was what he had indirectly and without words promised them to do since the start. But _he_ _could not be_ in _fifteen different places_ at the _same time._

Finding his All materia, he made sure the fiends were following _him_ rather than paying attention to the two Soldiers behind him. Migu had recovered – as was expected of a 2nd Class Soldier – and could fend off a few of the monsters on his own. Each of the small creatures had the anatomy of children, only they consisted of what could only be described as concentrated black smoke. They were quick and appeared to be intelligent, but not physically strong - nor immune to magic. Migu would manage, even without being given direct orders.

For now, Sephiroth had to return to the camp.

* * *

She held her ears tightly and kept her eyes shut, making sure to keep her arms and legs tense, as if they could shield her better that way. Already she had heard horrible sounds - screams and sounds of bones cracking, moving roots, spells being fired. Things and noises she wanted to hold at a great distance.

A rusty smell filled her senses about the same time as her elbows(which were on the ground)started feeling oddly wet. She opened her eyes – and then inhaled sharply, seeing a pool of blood running down the small slope, where she was curling. Instinctively she looked for its source. The man, though wearing a helmet, lay with limbs bending at impossible angles - intestines were running out from the wound in his stomach slowly. And he was right next to her, so close she could see through his visor. Revolted, struck by shock, she reflexively pushed herself to her feet with her hands, which became covered with blood as a result. Her eyes jumped back and forth between her two frighteningly red hands. She wanted to get off the blood, but she didn't want to wipe it off on herself – that would be even worse than-

"_Down!_"  
And she dropped down(or her knees gave in, she didn't know which), her arms over her head instantly. The rusty smell was there again, making her want to pull her beanie down in front of her nose to stifle it, but she didn't. Who had called? The voice belonged to one of the 2nd Class Soldiers.

Was that all she could do? Get down? Escape?  
As the cowardly wannabe-cook she was, she crawled sideways, away from the giant cliff-like boulder. Sephiroth's words returned to her:

"_The rest of the team assist Zack, unless Zack orders otherwise." _But that was _before_ they were being attacked head on! Was she, too, a part of the _team, _or was Sephiroth only referring to the Soldiers? Had Zack called Shinra? Was that why they had to stay put - so Shinra would find them?

Something touched at her foot and she jerked her leg closer, then stupidly hit it with a gory hand – as if hitting whatever invisible force that had touched her. But it was only a bag. Rimm looked at it, but jumped again and gasped as a vine from somewhere smashed down into the ground, right next to her. For a long moment she remained completely still. There was a false comfort in doing just that, as if by staying put and not move, she wouldn't be detected. Perhaps, in the bag, she could find some sort of weapon she would be able to use? Something like a gun, or an item, anything at all to defend herself to some degree.

* * *

Sephiroth was fuming. With the source of the fiends being underneath the boulder it would be hard to defeat them all. Also, now there were two kinds of fiends - vines and shadows. They were cooperating. However, if he and the other Soldiers removed the boulder, the fiends underneath would be free to attack all at once. Four men were already dead. Shinra should have arrived by now. If they used their fastest helicopters, they _should _have _been_ there. Sephiroth trusted Tseng's persuasive abilities, but to talk the President into sending helicopters would be difficult, because the President knew the mission was not completely over just yet. Then again, if President Shinra denied Tseng to come to their assistance, there was a slim chance Tseng would come anyway.

Roots and vines littered the place to the point of hiding the ground completely. And they kept coming. Was their source regenerating?

Where in the world was Rimm in this chaos? He could not detect her energy like this – not when his own, Zack's and the others' energies surged so freely. And the small, child-like fiends were nowhere to be seen anymore.

* * *

She had a gun now. But she was too afraid to use it - she could hit the others.

_To be quite frank...  
_She could even end up shooting _herself._ In her terrified state, that was actually likely. She was holding the gun so tightly that her hands were cramping.

"Rimm?"

The voice came from right in front of her, and she jerked upright. With her mouth closed and her blood-covered hands clutching the gun, she stared right at the silver-haired man. She forced herself to nod(as if to confirm she was all right), definitely not wanting to keep him from protecting the others.

"Do not move an inch. Do not move from there." She nodded again, faster this time. She wouldn't move if he said she shouldn't. She would follow orders. After all, when the orders came from him, who _still _looked like he had everything between heaven and earth under control, _who_ _would disobey?_

Then he vanished, and in blurry moves, more holes appeared in the ground as more shining white roots and dark gray vines surfaced, sometimes intertwined, and then chased the Soldiers. Subsequently more roots and vines fell limply to the ground. Swords sliced and materias flashed. It happened fast, and while watching, Rimm kept pointing the gun out in front of her, straight at the boulder. Just to be ready. The vine-fiend seemed to be realizing something – it no longer surfaced close to the two 1st Class Soldiers, but close to the injured ones or the less skilled ones. Where was its eyes, anyway? Three or four Soldiers fought alongside the leaders, though, chasing down and fending attackers off effectively. They seemed to be advancing more than before. If she remained still, as Sephiroth had told her to, maybe she would be all right after all.

Suddenly a thick, ironically white and beautiful root shot up from the ground in front of her, then lashed down towards her, and she fired the gun. The gunshot echoed through the air - and everything stopped.

* * *

He had decided to get the boulder out of the way when the others were safely out of the way, so he could defeat all the fiends - and their source - once and for all, but this decision was interrupted when he heard a shot being fired.

Hearing it was one thing, but he _saw_ it as well. It hit the boulder at the center of the camp, which in turn was in the middle of the commotion. In the very same moment, Sephiroth sliced through the root (lengthwise and crosswise) that could have hit the wielder of the gun; Rimm. She sat dead still, with the exception of her errant eyes, which followed his moves. Her hands were still covered in blood whose owner remained unknown to him.

"Sephiroth! The rock..!" When Zack spoke those words, and when he turned around and saw the boulder literally rising from the earth on legs identical to the roots and vines they had been fighting, he felt _foolish_. _He_ should have _known_. The boulder, the odd-shaped cliff, _was_ the_ fiend_. It was not just covering the smaller fiends or acting as a shield or barrier protecting the source of the fiends. Judging from its looks, the dark and light roots grew back out again every time they were cut through. His suspicions of a regenerating main fiend were thus confirmed. And even now, as if to mock them, it had yet to emit even a _tiny_ bit of malicious energy. It was just like the small fiends he had fought at first, only _this_ fiend had the camoflaging appearance of all the plants, trees and even rocks of the forest. So far, this monster had been _playing_ with them. It had killed and injured his men randomly, at whim.

Oh, how he was going to ravage it.

The cliff-like fiend opened slowly, like a bizarre flower of stone, to reveal cracks wherein hundreds upon hundreds of tiny pea-sized fish eyes blinked open and looked in all directions. The eyes differed in size and some were partially hidden, while others seemed to barely be hanging on to the moss sticking to the fiend. If the sight was sickening, the _smell_ was revolting. It looked like a Marlboro. In comparison, however, this was faster – or at least the vines were. It could move many ways at the same time. Looking closer, the eyes were in different colors. Some brown, others green and so on. From this it was safe to assume each fiend represented an elemental, and that the fiend had magic or other tricks up its sleeve. But what was the connection between this fiend and the shadow fiends he had fought only minutes before? The shadows were nowhere to be seen.

Sephiroth watched with cold indifference as he sent a strong Fire spell at the great fiend. The flames licked every visible fish-eye, but left no scratches. The General followed up with a Water spell of the same strength, and Zack hit it with a Lightning spell. Nothing affected it.

"Elemental spell immunity..." Sephiroth muttered, knowing Zack could guess without him telling. Dark red, almost brown blood ran from the bullet wound Rimm's gun had left. Physical attacks should work. Good.

Then he jumped, diving while pushing Masamune down in a vertical line, intending to cut right through it.  
And he did.

Consequently, the fiend _split_, leaving numerous smaller versions of itself moving in all directions. That was the reason behind the eyes – the fiend would be able to split into as many fiends as it wanted, as long as each had eyes to see with and roots or vines to move about and attack with. Now, there was absolutely no time for hesitation or confusion. If he wanted no other Soldiers to be injured, he needed his men to escape from there immediately. Many of the tiny fiends were already floating in mid-air without the support of their vines, which hung below them, stirring. This did not come as a surprise to Sephiroth, who now believed that nothing else they did would take him off guard.

"Advance north!" Sephiroth's voice sounded throughout the clearing.

"...Bring the injured ones!" Zack followed, fending off pieces of living rocks and vines by kicking them or hitting them with the blunt end or side of his sword. If he cut them, he figured they would split and grow in numbers again.

Sephiroth picked up his cellphone and dialed a number. The recipient of the call replied in only seconds.  
"...Migu, head _north._ Do not come here."

If any of them went in any other direction than north _on their own,_ they _would _get lost. Walking west, east or south would lead them into the Sleeping Forest. That was a place no one would be able to navigate through unless they had been there before and gotten away safely afterward. Sephiroth was the only one on the team who had done so. Thus, if they were separated, the wisest thing would undoubtedly be to go north.

A brief pause and an affirmation from Migu, then he hung up and dialed again while using non-elemental spells to keep away the fiends. Ironically the fiends were _weak, _both when it came to defense and offense. But they were smart, and they were fast. Each of them randomly spat elemental spells whenever the flew past. It would have been a colorful sight to behold had it not been for the seriousness of the situation.

"_Tseng._" There was no way the Turk would not hear the threat in his voice. Tseng was the only one Zack could have called for helicopters, but even for him, it would be hard to convince the President to simply borrow a couple. For President Shinra the helicopters and the Turks were the only means of protection he had while the 1st Class Soldiers were away on their missions. Asking the rich man to spare them both choppers and Turks was like asking a child to give away his favourite playthings. And for the President, most of the Shinra employees _were_ his playthings.

* * *

Zack glanced over his shoulder, where the others hauled the injured north. A few remained, waveringly eying their three fallen friends. Turning his attention forward, Zack saw Sephiroth using non-elemental magic. It was working – the smaller fiends vanished in clouds of pyreflies as they died. But the area was still teeming with swarms of them. Zack took a chance and attached his broadsword to his back, then readied a materia. Evading the fiends, he approached the Soldiers who were hesitating, then carefully hoisted up one of the dead men. Stubbornly ignoring how the lower part of the man's body seemed loose(as his spine was broken), and paying no attention to how this nauseated him, Zack motioned for the others to do the same. Leaving their dead teammates was out of the question. There was simply no need to explain it.

Suddenly, all at the same time, small, thin vines extended in all directions and attached to the white trees that had yet to be crushed by their battle. A net - or web - of vines was left. Its purpose was clear; It was there to keep them from escaping north. Zack's grip on his dead teammate tightened as he looked back to check on the others.

Then a batch of small children-like fiends looking like they were covered in black smoke appeared from the shadows of the glowing trees. Their speed was remarkable, even when steering in between the net of dark vines. While most of them approached, some only circled them. The fiends climbed, crawled and maneuvered about as if nothing at all was in their path. They were definitely working together with the plant fiend. Seeing this new batch of enemies inching closer would have demoralized them thoroughly if it hadn't been for Sephiroth.

He was keeping them at bay.

* * *

Sephiroth was the General of Shinra's Soldier troops. In battles, a title such as that held no significance whatsoever. His _authority to make decisions_, however, remained crucial. One misjudged situation, a single mistake, would inevitably lead to fewer survivors among his men. There existed no credible excuse in this world that could explain to the families of the fallen ones how he had let them die. With that sole thought riding his mind, he utilized an All materia and non-elemental materias against all fiends within his range - while using his Masamune in between each of the spells.

Zack had detached his sword from the strap on his back again and was now cutting through the vines in his way while still holding on to one of the dead men. A few others followed him, two of them also holding a person who had very likely been a close comrade – or so he guessed.

"Proceed north," was his command, repeated loud enough for all of them to hear. Sephiroth himself went in the opposite direction for Rimm while still fending off fiends, which were now starting to decrease in numbers.

She had barely moved from her spot while the others had fought, apparently, because she was still where he left her. With Masamune occupying his left hand, he pulled her to her legs with his right, then bent and threw her over his shoulder. Despite everything, he couldn't help but feel relief when she protested – not loudly or with words, but by digging her fingers into his back and holding onto his leather coat. He guessed she wanted him to put her down so she could move on her own, but at the same time she was reasonable enough to know _he_ was faster. But then – perhaps she did not _want_ to get off in the first place, and perhaps she clung to him not because she didn't want to fall off, but rather because she simply _wished_ to cling to him.

...Or was that something too veritably hopeless for him to even consider?

* * *

**R.R.  
**(-frets-)


	20. To Give Orders

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. If I did, I would not only make FF7 available for PS3 as soon as possible, but I would also make an entirely new best-seller with the title _FF7 – Sephiroth_. And I'd add this option: Japanese dialogue and English subtitles. Because the original voices are the best.

_Cliffhangers_ are unfashionable. People should advance to _cliff fallers.  
_**Uh, sorry about the length of the chapter. **(Short breaks are definitely recommended. Wait one week between each sentence.)

* * *

To Give Orders

* * *

Most of all she wanted to hold on to him tighter. Now she was hanging over his right shoulder while holding on to the back of his leather coat, but what she _really_ wanted to do (in a short, or perhaps _slightly_ long moment of weakness) was to hold her arms around him and shut her eyes until he pried her off. That was perhaps the most ridiculous thing (involving him, at least) she had ever thought of. After all, such a scene would look completely and utterly awkward. Imagine _her_ over his shoulder, giving his back an upside-down hug. That was simply cliché in a weird, eccentric, un-cliché-ish way. Even so, this silly train of thought managed to keep her occupied while Sephiroth moved, fought, sidestepped, fought, jumped and fought again. No matter how many fiends he defeated(be it using spells or his sword), more kept coming. Now that he fought alone and the others had gone ahead, the fiends seemed to try ganging up on him.

Suddenly he broke his pattern of 'attacking and moving, attacking and moving again', and took off from the ground. Recognizing this as his levitation skill, she grit her teeth and held on with all of her might, already feeling cramps seize her hands again. They moved so fast the only thing she saw clearly was his hair – everything else was just a blur of moving colors. Occasionally he spun around, probably to see if the undetectable fiends followed him, but fewer fiends were behind him each time. He kept going, faster and faster, until they got to a great lake. It was completely still, but held no such thing as a reflection. Instead the dark, blank surface looked like it mirrored some sort of mist, making it look dreadfully cold. The water looked black, only very faintly suffused by the grayish blue color of the sky.

Ripples spread beneath them on the surface as Sephiroth and Rimm – in defiance of gravity – swiftly moved closer to the steep, tall mountains on the other side. By then the fiends no longer followed them; They got no further than the edge of the dead still lake. It made Rimm wonder if they would turn back and pursue Zack and the others instead. But they only stopped - making no signs of wanting to go back.

Sephiroth continued straight up the prominent cliff ahead - towards the mountains - and Rimm suppressed a long, pained whimper while looking down. Her eyes felt like they were being sucked out of their sockets. Even so, she didn't fail to notice that the color of the great, steep cliff changed the higher they went. At the bottom, where the white glowing forest still rested, the rock wall was a light dove gray, whereas closer to the top, the protruding stones were charcoal and the plants greener. If they were to continue north into the mountains for only a few more minutes, though, they would be met with snow - she had seen it in the distance some minutes ago.

Of this reason, once they were on top of the cliff, Sephiroth landed soundlessly. After having bent down to one knee, he let her feet touch the ground before loosening his grip around her legs very slowly, as if being unsure if she was able to stand properly after the flight. The air was cold and it was perfectly quiet, save for the barely audible wind. Her hands let go of his back and stopped at his shoulders, where they hesitated. Staying like that, with him resting on a knee – keeping one arm half-way around her and the other hand holding Masamune at a distance – she just waited. This was something she doubted she would experience often. His right arm was still – it did not touch her, nor move away completely. Somehow there was a distance between them, but the distance wasn't large at all. From the looks of it he understood too, and that made her feel good. _Secure._ She no longer felt _inferior. _It was a feeling that couldn't last, but it delighted her nonetheless, and no matter how serious the situation was in reality, she wanted to remember this. But right now neither of them could let the moment last for too long.

"They need you, so..."

"I am only one person," he said, his voice barely audible, but his steady words were easy to hear.  
"One isn't the same as none." She couldn't see his face, so she didn't know what it expressed.

"The others are not 'none', and hence they will manage until I rejoin them," he reassured silently, rising to his feet with an ethereal grace she could never hope to attain. Glancing past him, she barely saw the other side of the lake far below. Many of the fiends were still there, which meant they couldn't be posing toomuch of a threat to Zack and the other Soldiers.

"So stay, right here, and do not let anything find you or injure you." He spoke in a hushed voice, with eyes searching hers. At this order, she found it safe to give a smile.

"My life is only mine!" she said, not too loudly, but confidently enough to put him at ease. Inside, though, she was wavering.

At that, he hesitated. He glanced at her hands, which were covered in blood that was now completely dry. She moved her hands and her fingers, to assure him they were unhurt, and then looked up at him again. At the moment, they were standing unusually close to each other. Stepping back would be obvious and awkward, but she didn't want to do that anyway. Even though he didn't look like he was uncomfortable(neither did she, hopefully, or at least she tried her best not to), she wanted to do _something_ to make herself feel better. If he just left and went to tend to the fiends and assure Zack and the others were all right, she would be left behind here. Supposedly, this lace was safer than wherever the others were, but Sephiroth could hardly carry them all there. He would just have to return to get her once the danger was over or Shinra came to pick them up. This was for the best.

She wanted to hug him.  
Rimm wasn't _worried_ about him, because he literally had more strength than he would ever be able to utilize to the fullest, and she didn't even need to wish him good luck, because he would do his best no matter what she said anyway. In other words, she was being selfish.

And... a _hug?!_ What a weird thing to even consider!

* * *

Rimm was blushing profusely before him. When she realized he was watching, she attempted covering it up by turning away, an action that stirred his curiosity.

"What is it?" he asked. Whatever could she be thinking about?  
"I was thinking weird and useless things."

At that, he watched her intently until she continued:  
"Uh, I was thinking of doing something childish, completely without beneficial use."  
"...And _why_ were you thinking of doing 'something completely without beneficial use'?" When he asked, her blush strengthened.  
"To make myself feel better."

...How was that lacking in beneficial use?

"Then, do go ahead," he urged, believing for a moment that she would go find one of those glowing trees again to try touching them, but there was no such thing as a white tree nearby. On the cliff on which they stood, only green plants thrived. Behind her was a dense, dark green forest, and longer up were several snowy mountain peaks - it would, indeed, have looked colorful if it hadn't been for the odd absence of more vivid colors. Perhaps that was why her cheeks appealed to him so.

All of a sudden she frowned as if bracing herself, then slowly reached out and let her arms embrace him as she leaned against him. All of him tensed completely - his mind was aflare with buzzing thoughts. With both of his arms still hanging down, one clutching his sword, he stared past her - torn between glancing down at her and averting all attention from her. Up until now, he had practically made it a taboo for himself to touch her - and he was sure they had never once made skin contanct, much thanks to his gloves. Yet, for _her_ to reach out for _him_ was not a scenario he had ever thought of. Despite all the rules he had set for himself, it did not feel like she was pressing him or crossing limits he had made. So, how was he supposed to react to this? Should he keep abiding to his own rules, or should he take her actions as a sign saying it was all right for him to proceed and embrace her, like she did to him? ...And if she was comfortable like this, was it a way for her to say that he could - if he wished - approach her in the future like she was doing now? The hair in his neck was standing on ends. In sharp contrast, his grip on Masamune had loosened considerably.

And just as she was about to withdraw, it occurred to him that she would most likely feel troubled that he had not returned her hug. She would come to the ridiculous conclusion that she had once again been a bother, and she would proceed to shun him to the best of her ability for a undesirably long period of time. Again. So before she could fully start pulling away, he extended his arms and let them rest on her back, careful to hold his sword at a distance. He was given a silent sigh as response as she relaxed. Accordingly, he felt a sense of peace overtake him. Not strong peace - nothing overwhelming. Instead, he found he could describe the sensation as one of contentment. He had not gone too far(because she had initiated the embrace and had indirectly asked him to return it), and he hadn't hurt her feelings.

When he let his arms slide off her, she pulled back, now smirking in a pleased manner. None of them seemed to have anything to say.

Then again, there really was no need for words.

Therefore, before he left, he placed a gloved hand on her head. A faint glow encased it as Sephiroth cast a barrier around her. If something were to happen to Rimm - despite the precautions he had made - she would be protected and safe. And though he could never bring himself to even imagine telling her, he _did_ feel that the barrier was nothing compared to having his hand rest on her head like that, then lingering close to her face in a split second before he finally pulled it away.

* * *

Half an hour later, the fiends were nowhere to be seen. Zack had found Migu and Gavan and showed them the way to the others. Five were dead in total; After the deaths of Gavan and the three being impaled by roots, one of the injured had gone unconscious and died soon after. Something had turned Sephiroth mute for a fair while, Zack noticed, even though all the Soldiers up north were not close to the monsters at the moment. With his subordinates out of the way, Sephiroth could move around better without worrying. Him being mute didn't matter, as long as kept on doing what he was best at - fighting. He had quite literally slaughtered each fiend coming too close, not saving his breath at all, simply because he knew he wouldn't lose it even if he overdid things.

Now the few remaining fiends had finally retreated. Zack had contacted Shinra again, on Sephiroth's orders. They Turks were on their way.

And Sephiroth had gone to retrieve Rimm from wherever he had left her, so Zack assumed she was safe.

* * *

Curse her.

_Curse me if I move._

There was something really, truly, genuinely extremely suspicious behind her, but she didn't dare to turn around to have a closer look. Doing that _could_ make her want to get the heck out of there. That wouldn't do at all. She had already glanced once. On top of the cliff, where she was now, the trees were all green and brown(as opposed to the white and glowing trees down below, around the lake). That made things look darker up where she was. But there was something else behind her than the dark green and brown trees and bushes, something that definitely wasn't a plant. She had barely caught a glimpse of it, yet when she _saw_ it, it was impossible to ignore and evident enough to make her stay quite close to the edge of the cliff(if ten feet was considered close). _Wires_ were what she saw. Barbed ones.

They made her think of the fence Sephiroth had mentioned earlier, only this wasn't actually a _fence._ It was the _remains_ of one. Rusty, dark and muddy in the current light. How did it get up here? Wasn't the fence originally in the Forgotten Capital among the trees that shone white? To keep fiends away?

Wait... Rusty, dark and... _muddy_?

Now she _couldn't_ resist peeking. The old fence _was_ muddy. That meant it had been underground. Considering the rapidly changing weather in the area, shouldn't the mud have been washed off long ago? Rimm swallowed without a sound, staring at the unbelievably thick, strong-looking wires, barbed to the point of hiding the wires completely. If the mud hadn't rained away, it was _new._ If the mud was new, the fence had surfaced not long ago. Come to think of it, she had been paying so much attention to the forest below (because Sephiroth left in that direction) that she wouldn't have noticed if something like that had been pulled up from the ground behind her. Earth was usually a quiet thing, right?

But just in case, she would keep a weapon within reach. The gun was long gone. Being a cook, she had kitchen equipment in her bag, but it wasn't here... But she did keep a few in her pockets. Shinra's military-patterned jacket was, after all, thick and big enough to room practically anything. So she found the only sharp object she had, a little, sheathed knife with a blade about as long as her hand. She looked at it, trying not to think of the fact that she didn't even like cutting _fish_ with it without mentally cringing to some degree. Still, she tightened her grip around it, then loosened it - to get used to carry it. If she had to, she needed to be ready to use it, so she raised it in front of her a face little, to have a closer look –

Only to have it whipped out of her hand from over her shoulder, seized, pulled out of her view and unhesitatingly stabbed in her back.

_Pain-_

Her mind screamed, but her body resisted doing the same – And then, as soon as the pain had hit her, it abruptly left, leaving her thoroughly shaken. But she was _unhurt_. Still in shock, Rimm swallowed without breathing, afraid she _was_ wounded after all, and that her body had somehow shut off the pain. Then she come to think of the barriers Sephiroth had cast. Praising her luck and thanking Sephiroth for the (hopefully long-lasting) durability of his barrier spells, she shakily let go of the breath she had been holding. Her gratefulness was not something she could relish in for long, though. Whatever had unsuccessfully stabbed her was now loitering about behind her. Fiends?

Why were the fiends _here?!_ Rimm swallowed and tried pulling her breath again, but was unable to fully do so, and instead she crept a little forward. She wasn't hurt, that much she knew by now. But the pain had been real as long as it had lasted, and very much so. What if all the others had been ambushed or caught? Perhaps everyone was hurt?

As if to assess the situation she turned, but something slammed her to the ground. Then the knife was pulled _from her back._ She hadn't even felt that it was still there. This move made her eyes flicker upwards and her teeth grind – for a moment she felt oddly light, almost weightless – then the instant 'recovery' and pain relief woke her to reality. Feeling the pain only in her mind, and subsequently knowing the danger she was in, she pulled herself to her knees and turned halfway to the threat, ready to shield herself with an arm. Her back turned cold as the chilly breeze passed her, alerting her to the not-so-important fact that the magic barrier had not saved her jacket. There was probably a hole in it.

When she looked up, she suddenly felt thoroughly confused. _A spell? _From the fiends..?

But the barrier should be shielding her right now. From physical wounds and magic spells. For the time being, she dismissed this confusion as something caused by the completely unexpected ambush. This decision, though, didn't make her confusion _go away._ Frowning, she searched her hands for something – she couldn't quite remember what.

What was it again?

Her hands were still bloody, but the blood had dried long ago. And her gun was not there. Was that it? ...She was looking for the gun?  
She didn't have time for- she didn't have time for that. Or energy. Also, she was feeling too heavy. Hadn't she felt light a moment ago? Then again, there was a chance she confused heaviness with sleepiness. Finding this sadly ironic, as she usually had a very hard time falling asleep even in the softest and comfiest of places, she let a sad chuckle escape from her mouth. The chuckle was an utterance that made the fiends stir again.

And being surrounded on all sides except one, the fiends didn't have to strain themselves to approach head on without her running. And they charged – not with magic, nor punches or knives – but holding the barbed wire. The shadow fiends maneuvered the wire so easily and so swiftly, completely without getting cut themselves, even when touching and effortlessly pulling it. Lightheaded, she found she couldn't predict their movement more than a little, and simply backed away when they came closer. And there was literally nothing she could do to stop them. If she resisted, there was a chance they would push her off the cliff. The rusty wires touched her legs first, creasing around them fast with some help from the skipping fiends, despite her vigorous kicking. Then the fiends stopped, and a number of them stood on each side of her, then pulled at the fence; The barbed wire instantly constrained her legs. When did they have time to so _thoroughly_ ensnare her? They had only just started, yet-

Frightened, she reached out to loosen them, but her attempts were effectively stopped as more fiends appeared and started pushing her closer to the edge of the cliff.

"No! Stop!" The sensation of fear and helplessness - the feeling of being completely aware that they aimed to _kill_ her - was not something she could ever manage to describe. And there was _nothing_ she could do or say to stop them from pushing her.

"_Stop!_" she cried, feeling the stab of almost physical pain in her chest as she did, and willed herself to turn around until she was on her stomach, just as her hands and arms lost contact with the ground. If they pushed her a little more, she would dive down head first. It was too far down – falling from this height was not something someone could survive. Her barriers – even if Sephiroth was their caster – would simply not work if she fell into the lake.

Dangling on the edge, kicking madly with her tied-up feet and trying to grab hold of whatever she could, she suddenly felt something – something like a powerful stomp – and simultaneously she could have sworn many pebbles nearby jumped. Some dust barely reached her view in her current position, which otherwise only showed her the vertical wall of the cliff, all the way down to the great expanse of the pale lake.

* * *

Sephiroth exaggerated his landing – the ground shook for a second. He stood over Rimm's legs, with one foot on each side of her, watching the lot of fiends. And to think that earlier, he had assumed these were _decoys?_ The _vine fiends_ were the decoys all along.

Moving to his right, so as to give his left arm and Masamune a greater attack range(but also to avoid having the blasted old barbed-wires between his legs, a truly disadvantageous place indeed), Sephiroth stepped away from Rimm. Then he charged at the monsters at breakneck speed, wasting no more time. Before they gathered themselves, he rushed at them and beheaded them, slitted their throats and cut them in two both lengthwise and crosswise, before they could do anything. He drowned them, electrocuted them, but most of all burned them with spells stronger than strictly needed, merely to satisfy himself. Even so, despite how much he despised them, he did not attack them from behind. That was what _they_ had been doing so far. There was no way _he_ would initiate and take part in such spineless methods. He did not let Rimm out of his sight, even when the fiends ignored her completely. Like they had frolicked with her, Sephiroth would toy with them.

The last fiend stopped dead in front of him a fair distance away, standing on its feet but still touching the ground with its long, jointless arms. Its small body was – like that of all the others – covered with black smoke, and was less than half his own size. Its eyes were two shining, white eyes the size of tiny round buttons, which momentarily caught his attention. On its face was something else that was not black: Its mouth. An open, grinning mouth with sharp, distorted, brownish yellow teeth as thin as needles, all bending in different directions. Its grotesque grin grew wider by the second. Similarly, Sephiroth's eyes widened fast as he felt vibrations in the ground. This had happened earlier today, too, after his earthquake without himself being directly at fault. The fiend's final doing? A landslide..? The feeling was like that of a large mass of dirt and rock loosening-

Sephiroth blanched.

Before the fiend in front of him even realized the man in front of him moved, it became the only fiend Sephiroth stabbed directly to the heart with his Masamune.

* * *

It was after slipping a few times repeatedly (while trying to get to safety and away from the edge) that she had sensed a sharp jolt from the cliff on which she lay. Unable to move without there being a possibility of her falling(since most of her upper body was hanging in thin air), and unable to stand up and then jump out of there with her legs still constricted, she had instead tried reaching back and taking hold of the barbed wires and _pull _herself back to safety.

She never got far enough. In fact, she never even got to _begin_ properly. She simply wasn't fast enough to get away before the cliff jerked again, then it started its inevitably body-shattering drop down towards the blank lake below. After a fraction of a second she became weightless. She thought she would be more afraid – but there wasn't enough time for her to feel any sort of extreme fear. Still, even though everything passed by as slowly as it did, it was impossible for her to compound her thoughts to something resembling a structured pattern.

Through the wind rushing past her ears, _one_ thought managed to break through the barrier that had manifested itself in her mind: She thought of her legs, still wrapped in barbed wires.

If the wires were long enough, she would break the surface of the lake together with the rest of the falling boulders and earth, then drown. If the wires were _short,_ her legs would be torn off, ripped off-

Still falling, though she hadn't yet gained too much speed, Rimm hit the mountain wall. Head first, holding her arms in front of her, she tried to stop herself from sliding down along with the loose earth and falling stones. Weren't there any branches or fresh sprouts she could grab on to? She hit a projecting rock hard, her neck and shoulder twisting before she rolled off and continued falling freely through the air. Agony imbued her body for what seemed like several excruciating seconds, but what was really only less than a split second. Then, thanks to Sephiroth's still functioning barriers, the pain vanished everywhere except for her shoulder. By now her mind was yet again screaming - filled with thoughts and questions of whether her shoulder and arm had perhaps been torn off. She hit the sloping rock wall again and rolled for only a moment, feeling like she was being pulled apart by the speed alone. Her limbs felt like they were being peeled off, one by one, only for the pain to be replaced with a dulled sensation a little later.

All this within seconds-

Then her fall suddenly slowed. A tearing sound echoed in the air and in her mind about the same time as her legs were pressed against each other, constricted until the garments clothing her knees, ankles and feet were cut through and her skin stripped off. The vivid sensation of intense warmth from the new wounds being met with the cold air was numbing. She would do anything to simply faint, anything to erase the pain. But after literally having her legs scraped, she gained speed again. One final time she hit the slanting mountain wall - feeling her legs burn and tingle at the same time - and this time she followed it to the bottom. There, in the smoke of the landslide, she unwillingly joined the boulders and pebbles alike in their dive – crashing into and breaking through the water surface.

* * *

Right now, unbearable guilt was what most of all tore at his mind.

Caused by the fact that he had been one second too late – only because he had paid attention to the last fiend for one more second than he should have.

Which was why he had flung his Masamune into the cliff wall, leaving it stuck there, and followed the landslide into the previously dead, freezing body of water. Even under water his levitation was put to extensive use in the few seconds that his search lasted. With his keen eyes only eying the objects that were evidently not rocks or sinking boulders, he caught sight of her below him. A flash of light blinded him momentarily – a flash he instantly identified as her barriers beginning to fade. Bubbles raced towards the surface immediately after. Clearly unable to see or navigate under the high pressure and confusion, Rimm used an arm and kicked with both legs, her jacket giving her trouble. Sephiroth rushed down towards her, not failing to remember how her legs and the garments covering them had literally been scraped off. At that time the barrier must already have started removing itself, for as she kicked, dark blobs blended with the freezing water. The small, dark cloud underneath her did not stop growing even when she stopped moving on her own. No garment clothed her head any longer, leaving her hair to spill freely around her head in a dark halo that failed to cover her alarmingly white face.

Sephiroth was now at her side, paying no heed to the blood slowly floating up towards the surface as he deprived her of the heavy jacket and pulled her close. He forced himself upwards, but found that using only his levitation skill was insufficient, so he helped them along by swimming.

Starting to feel the cold take hold of him, he sped up. Staying in water as cold as this was something absolutely no one could manage for an extended period of time. For humans in general, staying in water of this temperature for half a minute would be enough to render them unable to move – they would die of a heart attack as a consequence of lowered body temperature. How long had he stayed underwater, and Rimm? ...He hadn't counted. Estimating time right now was not something to waste time on. And to say that he had never before moved this slow was not an understatement – his senses were being forcibly dulled by coldness(also, he held Rimm tightly), which was taking toll.

The moment he broke the surface he instinctively opened his mouth to refresh himself and immediately proceeded to move into the air with some trouble. Moving further without holding onto Rimm with both arms proved difficult, so he did what was no doubt the easiest thing to do; He used both arms to hold her soaked frame close to him, then flew to the closest shore. Here, he almost harshly dropped her on the ground to further inspect her. Before he could do so, however, Rimm was awoken by the hard landing and turned over while coughing to the point of which he almost believed she would throw up. In between every other cough she managed to breathe only slightly, and she also shook her head repeatedly of some reason. Despite having turned away from him, her arm hung quite limply at her side, spare for the trembling, pale blue fingers. Equally, her legs required medical attention.

Without opening his mouth, Sephiroth grit his teeth. _Restore materia._ Once again, Shinra was the one to be blamed. Right before the mission, Shinra had bought all Restore materia available on the market – for a noticeably cheap price surely caused by the use of blackmail against all the tax-paying shopkeepers – then kept half of it in Shinra's Headquarters for _protection_. The rest had been sparingly, _greedily_ given to the leaders of the Soldier teams. His own team was only given a few. Sephiroth had one of his own, however, but thinking he would manage without it(as he would be fighting rather than healing during potential fights), he had offered it to Zack. He had no such materia on him now that Rimm was-...

Forcibly putting aside this train of thought, he looked at her face again(which to him was not visible at the moment because of her hair), and then to the shivering arm, which was no doubt dislocated.

With no hesitance, he took hold of her elbow with one of his leather-clothed hands, and put the other below her shoulder. Knowing it would be painful, he pulled, then rotated the arm enough for him to feel the joint go back into its socket. While doing so he had braced himself for Rimm to scream, shout or do anything else to display her pain. In contrast to his expectations, however, she was quite still and was no longer trembling. Momentarily taken off guard he checked if she was breathing. She was, although only slowly so, with long pauses between each ragged breath. From then on, and for several full minutes, he only watched her – as if to ensure she would keep breathing even if he were to avert his eyes. With her unconscious he had to hurry.

He only left her side to get Masamune.

And five seconds after he left, she opened her eyes without stirring, seeing only the few glowing white branches above her head against the darkening sky. A small moment before Sephiroth landed again, his soaking wet hair clinging almost inaudibly as a consequence of having turned to ice in the cold wind, she stopped breathing. It was like this he found her – with light blue lips and half-open eyes, steel as before, but not reacting to or reflecting the light.

* * *

Hectic activity deafened his senses all the way to Midgar.

The helicopters has already arrived when he returned tto Zack and the others. From that point on, he did not need to speak a word – Zack did everything for him without questioning. Those who saw the dark face he hid soon looked away. The expression he bore was one of complete and utter concentration. Knitting his eyebrows and keeping his eyes narrowed, he spent the flight thinking - mixing all the impressions Shinra had given him so far. Rimm's wounds had already been tended to, but only _surface_ healing would not be sufficient. The Restore materias were not of any use at all, whatsoever. They were too new, too untrained, and much too weak. Only his own materia, the one he had handed to Zack before the mission had commenced fully, had been of help. It had seemingly been of great use for the others as well. But even though Rimm's wounds had been healed, she was still freezing cold and was not breathing. Only her heart persisted. In what was a blur to him the helicopters rushed back to Midgar. As long as his fists were clenched, though only lightly, no one dared speak with him. After their arrival, however, somebody attempted speaking _to_ him. Sephiroth purposely shut out the voice. Even so, the words carried to his ears and let him catch the majority of it:

"..._-iven a mission-_..._-ck the reactor in Nibelh-_..._-ight now, General, sir. Zack, too, has b-_..."

_Why_ did he work for Shinra, under the command of the President and his closest henchmen?  
Looking up, Sephiroth searched the face of the man who now offered him some papers.

"Good luck."

Of some indescribable reason, he was absolutely furious.

* * *

She couldn't tell what was happening. A void was around her head, or so it felt, because something was weighing her down. It was the same with the rest of her. The air was burning her, but inside she was so cold she was at complete loss of what to do and what to think of it all. It was as if the things happening around her only came to her after having been filtered through cotton. Where were the trees? She could have sworn she just saw them. She could hear people - they were nearby, talking about something. Rimm couldn't hear what. Again, she felt herself slipping away, as if slowly being pulled into a heavy sleeping state, where struggles were no good at all. It was like being encased in syrup. It was suffocating her.

But her mouth wouldn't open enough to let her speak. The only thing she could do was listen to those muffled sounds that were voices – which spoke words she couldn't completely understand the meaning off, because she was about to drift away.

"No Mako areas fit the requirements at all? No reactors can be built up there?"  
"That's right." ...That was Zack's quiet voice. But she couldn't hear what it was he said.

"...That can't be helped. Luckily, only a few died."  
"A few is not the same as none. So make sure the number of dead doesn't increase. Make sure the wounded ones survive."

Speaking of Zack... Sephiroth wasn't there for her to try and speak with.

* * *

Watching her like this pained him. No one else was there, yet his face remained calm, almost falsely speculative. She was lying on a disturbingly white bed, her back elevated to some degree, and her head was supported by two pillows - one of them also supporting her shoulder. Sephiroth had already fixed her displaced shoulder, but the nurses had tended to it anyway. He was glad they had. Half of her face was badly bruised – on it was dark, purple flecks, most of them around the bandage that covered her eye. Whether it was wounded he was not sure, as it might as well be her head that was hurt and the bandages only covered her eyes by chance. On the same arm as her previously dislocated shoulder, her fingers were supported by several small pins, with each finger and pin held together by thinner bandages. No one had told him whether she had any internal injuries, and if she had, none had informed him to which extent her vital organs had taken damage. Second to this, her legs were both in a horrible state – one of her feet was broken several places all the way to the ankle. Both legs were very badly grazed and carried long marks left by the barbed wires. She was lucky the wires hadn't cut any deeper. If the barrier had started dissolving any sooner, she might have lost more than what was currently the case. He couldn't see why the barrier hadn't lasted longer - he did not even manage to figure when, exactly, each of the smaller injuries had impaired her. Several of her wounds had been spotted on the flight back to Midgar. And some more had become apparent only in the infirmary.

Seemingly on its own accord, his hand moved to her shoulder, but then it stopped. Wavering for a moment, Sephiroth watched his glove in slow realization.  
It was such a foolish thing to think of at a time like this, yet he did.

Sephiroth had never _touched_ her. He had held her, _carried_ her, but their skin had not once touched. He quietly watched his leather gloves in disbelief, wavering between annoyance and gratefulness. They had been a constant barrier.

"Rimm?" How unfamiliar her name sounded on his lips. Still, his voice was normal.

She stirred. Her head moved until one of her eyes barely opened(the other still covered by bandages), leaving a single steel orb barely visible for him to hold with his own. Her lips were still blue, the very same shade of blue they had carried when he had carried her to where the helicopters were waiting. Outside her field of vision, he languidly pulled his left glove off. The hand looked perfectly normal. Cleaner, perhaps, than that of other Soldiers, but only physically. In the past , with this left hand holding his sword, he had caused much grief. This was something he often found himself thinking about. Then again – was he not wearing gloves all the time during the war also? So physically at least, his hands were not really as stained as his gloves.

Then he reached out for the only skin visible that was not bruised, bandaged or covered with warm duvets – her right cheek.

And when they touched, he felt something monstrous open its eyes wide inside him in some unexplainable way, and he felt the same happen in _her_. Something that was entirely opposite of enticing or soothing; It gave him chills, and alarmingly so. It was anything but comfortable, and he found he would do just about anything to rid them of it and avoid it. If this was the feeling of affection, which he seriously doubted, he had no desire for it. Rimm, too, looked as if she had felt something similar. Her visible, oddly blank eye displayed discomfort and confusion for a moment, and Sephiroth felt that confusion also stirred in _him_. Something was there, a _something_ that did not belong.

* * *

Days later – days with no means of contacting Shinra HQ as their phones could not connect to anything anywhere – they arrived in Nibelheim. Zack had avoided speaking with him in favor of encouraging the motion-sick Cloud, a new member of Soldier. The yellow-haired man was not yet 1st Class, but was apparently aiming high. And even though his mind was occupied, Sephiroth made sure to start dialogues occasionally. Even so, the days passed by remarkably slow. Only when assessing the happenings of the days – in the evenings – did time seem to pass faster. Upon finally arriving, however, this young Cloud character surprisingly hesitated. For a man who had been motion sick all the way he displayed an unlikely need to return to the van they had used.

"How does it feel?" Sephiroth asked. From Cloud's barely visible face(behind the visor of his helmet), the General guessed the man thought he was being questioned about his motion sickness.

He was not, so he shook his head.

"This is your first time back in a long time, is it not? ...So, how does it feel? ...I wouldn't know, because I never had a hometown." Never any homesickness, for that matter. This meaningless chatter he felt so inclined to speak was surely not of any interest to the others, but he had spoken either way. Most of all he enjoyed traveling. It was far more refreshing than the air in Midgar could ever hope to become. Also, this village had no traces of Shinra in it so far.

"Umm... How about your parents?" Cloud asked, ignoring Sephiroth's question. This perked his interest slightly, but he decided not to pursue the matter, feeling oddly weary.

"My mother is Jenova. She died right after giving birth to me. My father..." Sephiroth stopped there, laughing a hollow, empty laugh while shaking his head. Oh, he had asked Hojo about his father on quite a few occasions, but each time ended with him being punished in one way or another.  
"What does it matter? ...All right. We should go."

Not much later, they were at the Inn. Cloud had walked off to see if he could find his family. His mother lived here, apparently. The others were in their bedrooms, and everything seemed perfectly calm. From the windows in the hallway(there were only bedrooms on one side of the wide corridor, so the other had many windows), the reactor was visible. It looked eerie, even from the Inn. The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful, and almost disturbingly so, for many of the villagers seemed tense. Some were excited, and the Inn owner was honored to have guests of "such great caliber", as the man had phrased it, but the older ones were apparently wary of Sephiroth.

At the moment, he was downstairs borrowing a phone. His cellphone was of no use, not with all the surrounding mountains. It was almost curious for the normal house phone to be working as perfectly as it did.

"...Reeve?" he asked.

"That would be me," was the reply from the director of Shinra's Urban Development section.  
"This is Sephiroth... I am calling about the injured Soldier and the cook."

The silence in the other end was strong enough to make the already bitter taste in his mouth taste of something else, something that could not be categorized. His face stiffened, and he knew all too well that the silence meant he had to write yet another letter of condolences and apologies to the closest family of one of them. Unless both... unless _both_ of them were...

"Both are dead." Reeve's answer was a quiet whisper - a whisper that echoed in his mind nonetheless. For once, he allowed his face to contort – but only for a moment – then he spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes hard and empty.

"I see... Thank you." Never had his voice sounded so _bland._ Before Reeve said a word, Sephiroth proceeded by hanging up, then left the empty room. After mechanically thanking the receptionist for letting him borrow the phone, he went upstairs and was just about to open the bedroom door when he realized that he did, under no circumstances, wish to enter.

So - with languid steps - he approached the row of large windows on the opposite side of the their room, then let his eyes scrutinize the panoramic view of mountains outside, without really seeing them.

_Is this..._  
Was _this_ the Planet's method of making him _repent?_

Could he not instead take revenge for those under his command who had fallen?

He still recalled reading Hojo's report about Rimm. It had said she had a remarkable recovery rate, and so he had automatically believed she would recover from her wounds fast, since she still lived when they arrived in Midgar. But she had not. Would it have been different if she had been given _immediate_ treatment? Her death..? Was it his fault for not attempting to treat her on his own? Sephiroth loured. No, had he tried, he would only have aggravated her _possibly_ wounded internal organs, thus speeding up her death. What _did_ have a consequence at that time, however, was Sephiroth's _'spur-of-the-moment'_ need to avenge the attack the shadow fiends had been about to commence on her. If he had taken Rimm away from there as fast as possible - instead of chasing down the fiends - the number of wounds would not have been nearly as great. And the number of deaths would not have been as high if Shinra had simply sent helicopters right away. As for materias, Shinra should have bought more _trained_ materias, both Restore ones and offensive ones. But they had been too greedy. They still were.

...Shinra... Shinra seemed to be at fault quite often lately.

They had all failed to prevent President Shinra from (however indirectly) causing Rimm's death and the death of his other subordinates. The helicopters should have been there before he even left Rimm in "safety" on top of the cliff in the first place. _Shinra_ was at fault. Shinra's loyal followers were to blame. Those who bowed before Shinra and followed their every whim deserved some sort of wake-up call. Spending his own life serving Shinra until now was, he _admitted_, a disastrous mistake. One that could never be righted. Shinra had cunningly made him (and all others who had died or suffered from Shinra's greed and their wish for new Mako sources) _waste _his life. And unlike others, _he _had wasted his _entire_ life. They had used him, even humiliated him, without him knowing. All this time they had undoubtedly been smirking behind his back of how easy it was to make him follow orders and oblige to every single whim of theirs.

If these thoughts were not nonsense, his purpose was to repay them.

* * *

**R.R.**  
...Wut? She be _dead?_


	21. Nibelheim and the Time Skip

Disclaimer: I still don't own Final Fantasy. Though, if I owned Google or something like that, I'd sell it and use the money to buy Final Fantasy 7.

**Final Fantasy Advent Children spoiler warning:** only the fight between Cloud and Sephiroth. When you get to this scene in this chapter, you can safely skip it if you don't want FF Advent Children to be spoiled for you!)

* * *

Nibelheim – and the Time Skip

* * *

The next day passed with himself only seeing and experiencing everything as if through a veil. He had not slept that night – instead, under the guise of 'looking around', he had been thinking. Every thought ultimately made him dislike Shinra more. In the end, too much suffering was directly or indirectly caused by the greed of Shinra. The one mainly responsible was the President. Eventually Sephiroth had made a decision, one that was foolish in almost every aspect, yet still seemed perfectly reasonable to him; When he returned to Shinra, he would submit his resignation. Then he would take his leave. There would be no need for him to even speak a word, nor give them any sort of reason. There would be no return.

This plan (including his resignation - on _paper,_ at least) had been put on permanent hold when they went to the reactor.

On the way a bridge had fallen away under their feet which resulted in loss of one man. Yet again Shinra was to blame; The reactor belonged to the company, and therefore they also held the responsibility of keeping the road in order. That included the bridge, which had broken without warning. Had Sephiroth been able to concentrate more, he might have flown or used his levitation ability, but he had chosen not to do so because the fall would simply not do him any harm. After realizing they had lost a guard, on the other hand, Sephiroth wished he could reset the mission and redo it - something he had wished numerous times in the past, too. They had continued up nonetheless, through materia caves with larger and smaller monsters – fiends that were no match. He still recalled answering questions about the frozen Mako while passing through the caves: _"The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the materia. Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the Planet, calling up magic."_ He had spoken these words with remarkable composure, informing and impressing those who were with him.

But now that they finally entered the reactor, wherein secrets lay that stirred his anger yet again, he found it increasingly hard to keep him calm. There were _tubes_ in the main room. Some broken, others still functional, but _all _were occupied. They held mutated monsters, some which he had never seen before. He could sense that the substance they were bathing in was Mako, and he could see that they all held certain resemblances to humans.

_Mutated humans? And Mako? _

During his childhood, he too had experienced the use of... Mako...  
After that moment, it became hard for him to think clearly. He spoke, apparently without registering what passed his lips.

"Was I created the same way... as these monsters?" He no longer paid any heed to the others.

* * *

Hojo's brows were arched, but his eyelids were heavy, showing his tiredness. Despite his lack of sleep and his displeased face, he was quite content.

He had retrieved the keeper of Nova; The person who was named Rimm, and who was presumed to be dead. What a mess. She was not dead – Hojo had only made it _look_ like she was dead. The reason was simple. He was not yet done experimenting with her. The Nova cells had taken a long time to manifest properly in her body(as opposed to Sephiroth and Jenova's cells, which had not at all taken long). Now for the second part of the experiment: He needed to add Mako. It would not make this Rimm character some sort of superhuman – not at all. Whereas Sephiroth had received Mako when he was in his mother's womb, and thus was able to grow with the cells of Jenova and learn her abilities, it would be too late for Rimm to do the same. She would only function as a container, a host.

"Can you see this, Lucrecia? What you started is coming to a conclusion. This specimen will complete it." He placed a slender finger on the Mako tube. It was hidden out of sight from the other scientists, as he feared a few of them might recognize her. She had, after all, delivered food to some of them for some time now. Of this reason he had covered her face and head in simple, loose bandages. She still wore a white hospital gown. The bandages on her head did not keep her hair from floating, however.

"Sephiroth was injected with Jenova's cells, and the other with Nova's cells," he said quietly, as if to himself. It was a part of a very well planned, long-term plan. Never had his patience gone through such a test. It was highly unlikely that potential offspring of the two of them would end up mutated, like what kept happening when two species with only Jenova cells mated. Instead, a far better, _stronger_, creature would come into being. A specimen hopefully as powerful as a resurrected Jenova would have been had she been alive; Not only with a living spirit and a few cells, but a whole, _living body._ Rimm only had the strength of an average person because her cell injection had happened late in her life, and Sephiroth was _strong_ because the injection of Jenova cells had been arranged _early_ in his life. However, if the two were to harbor affections for each other, potential offspring would carry Jenova's cells (_and_ Nova's, of course) at an even earlier stage than Sephiroth. What would become of such a specimen?

Why, it would become something _terrific._

Pretending Rimm was dead was only temporary – something that gave him time to finish the experiment by adding Mako. Also, once Sephiroth found out she was alive, surely that would only make him even happier to see her..?

* * *

They had left him alone. He was in the basement of the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim now, having already read through enough material to make him chuckle sadly, _sarcastically,_ by himself many times. Jenova was his mother. He did not know who was his father. But he had, at the very least, always believed his mother was a _human_. But she was not. She was something more superior by far.

Something told him he was not alone in the old building, that someone stood behind him and watched him in his attempts to stitch together the pieces of his past that he had discovered. He paid no heed to the presence. He was occupied.

_Ever since I was small..._  
Ever since he was small, he had felt different from the others... Like he was special in some way.

But not like this. His mother was, as far as he could make out from the reports, an Ancient. Not human. His fame, his power, his strength, were _not_ something he had achieved on _his own_. It was something he had been born with, something he had been destined to do. That meant that on his own, if he were a normal human, he would _never _have gotten this far. Was that not correct? He had relied on his heritage all of his life, without knowing it. And he was _certain_ that Hojo had known everything from the beginning. That hunched man whose greasy hairdo was always the same and whose smirk and frown would never cease, would stay like that until his death. He was yet another person who could laugh silently behind Sephiroth's back... And yet another person who had used him. He had been Shinra's puppet for so long without being aware of it, and for that, he had come to despise them all to the core.

And now he understood everything perfectly. He knew what to do. His uncertainty was no more.

Just as Shinra had oppressed him, Sephiroth would crush them all. There would be no escape, and no mercy. If he could not end their lives, he would break their souls by ending the lives of those around them. If he could not crush their souls, he would tear their bodies apart until they would plead for him to kill them - and when they did, he would either burn them or refuse to do end their suffering. To him, they were all fiends. Long ago humans had stolen the entire Planet and used it for their own benefit, sealing away Jenova for a long time. Jenova, his mother - an Ancient - was the rightful owner of the Planet. And with her dead, Sephiroth was her heir. The Planet was the inheritance she had left for him. Its fate was in his hands. There was now a weight on chest, a responsibility heavier than any other he had had before. One which would hopefully lighten if he justified matters.

* * *

_From that moment and on, countless stories about this man travelled the Planet. Sephiroth left, and with him, he took the future of the world.  
He was – in many ways – so unnaturally strong that when he fell, his fall was said to be greater than that of any other person, of any other era._

* * *

_The fire spread faster than the people could move. In only minutes Nibelheim was engulfed in flames that ravished the buildings with their every lick. None of the villagers died of suffocation, as was usual in fires – they burned to death, drowned in flames. Those who made it out could only witness that the fire was spreading on the ground too – ground that was not even flammable in the first place. Not only the houses, but the well, the surrounding trees, the running people, even the rocks were lit. In the middle of it all, only a very select few made it out and away. Saving others proved to be close to impossible, yet they tried nonetheless. Two of them were young Tifa - the guide - and her coach. _

_She left for the reactor in despair, hoping with all of herself that her father was all right._

_...Moments after she found him, he died in her arms._

_In blind rage she pulled Sephiroth's Masamune from her father's stomach and ran into the reactor, crying, glowering, and moving without pause until she saw the General standing on top of the stairs - in the red-lit room wherein the Mako tubes were kept. Her attempt at hurting him was futile; He seized the sword and shoved her down the stairs, then turned to the door blocking his way. From then on she barely heard or saw anything. She registered Zack arrive, and even blamed him for all that had happened, but he remained quiet and flashed one of his sadder smiles. Then he left for his old comrade._

_She could hear them fighting. Feeling the pressure, she heard Zack yell at the person who used to know him, and who had once been his friend. In the end he was sent flying though the wall and did not move again. Only silent, almost coaxing words could be heard from then – Sephiroth's voice within the chamber he had broken into. To whom he spoke, she didn't know.  
_

_Then Cloud came. Seeing his two friends - who were among those who had made the biggest impacts on his life - he seized Zack's sword. Had Tifa been able to stand and move about, she would have seen Sephiroth impale Cloud with his Masamune and hold him in mid-air, the General standing on the narrow bridge in the brightly lit chamber. Underneath, there was a hole so deep the bottom was not visible to the naked eye. On the bottom was living Mako – spirit energy, or Lifestream – the knowledge of the Planet. If Cloud were to fall into the abyss, he would die. But he didn't fall. Instead, he pulled himself closer to Sephiroth, impaling himself further with the Masamune, and the second his feet touched the bridge, Cloud made an attempt to push the swordsmaster and his Masamune into the depths below. Sephiroth fell, or jumped on his own – none saw and none would be able to tell anybody about it later – and as he plunged down into the darkness, he held in his right hand Jenova's head. Behind Cloud, on the other side of the bridge in the chamber, were the remains of Jenova's tube and her headless body._

_Then Cloud collapsed, bleeding and hurting, knowing little that Zack and he, too, would suffer from Hojo's peaking interest in them from the very moment they were found._

_But Sephiroth was gone. As a result, Hojo would have to change his plans. Postpone them._

* * *

Just _when_ time became a blur to him, he was not sure. But time was of no consequence. Where he was now, in the Lifestream, knowledge was the only thing overflowing his mind. Things he had experienced in the past (and words he had spoken before and after he found the truth about Jenova, whose head he had consumed in order to reunite with her) were playing in his mind time and time again:

"_In my veins courses the blood of the ancients... I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet."  
_"_Out of my way. I'm going to see my mother."_

"_So cold..."_  
"_I am always by your side."_

He became a traveler of the Lifestream and gained the knowledge of the Ancients and the distant past. He also gained the knowledge and wisdom of those _after_ the extinction of the Ancients - the humans. And soon, he would create the future. By merging with all the energy of the Planet, he would become a new life form, a new existence. By melding with the Planet he would cease to exist as he was now. He would forget all humiliation and unnecessary pain. Emotions were trivial and not needed, for they only served as a hindrance. Time did not matter. Whether years or weeks passed was of no consequence, either. His plan would eventually be completed, no matter how much time passed. There was no stopping him. Whoever stood in his way would be eliminated without hesitance, for his revenge would be achieved no matter what.

The first step was to rid Shinra of its useless President. After a long sleep, the time had come.

In this very moment he was in Midgar, inside the Shinra Headquarters. To describe it quite precisely, he was in the office of the President himself. Judging the looks of the man, some years had obviously passed.

"...Sephiroth?!" the man said, shocked and not believing his eyes, but still keeping his face – he was full of authority. But only in appearance.

How he had longed for this.

"Die in obscurity." Then, with one heavy thrust of his sword, a stream of blood colored the President's otherwise spotless desk and left him there, dead, with his eyes wide and bloodshot and his mouth open. The man did not look shocked, not even frightened – only furious, even in death.

From there, events melded even more. Only important matters, but also - at times - things that were less important, and even _unusually_ so, were left in his mind:

Him meeting troublesome people.  
Him killing said people.  
Him gaining greater powers and knowledge.  
And, on occasion, him thinking of persons he should not be offering thoughts at all.

"_You are just a puppet... You have no heart... and cannot feel any pain. __How can there be any meaning in the existence of such a being?__"  
Cloud._ Sephiroth could not recall whether that was the man's true name. He was simply too unimportant.  
"_What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me you have feelings too?"  
..._Too? _Too?_ Indeed, Sephiroth was aware that he still had feelings. A fact he felt Jenova detest, yet at the same time a fact that he himself could not deny.

"_Ha, ha, ha..."  
_"_What I have shown you is reality. What you remember, that is the illusion."_

_  
_"_After a long sleep, time has come..."  
_"_They... These worthless creatures are stealing the Planet from Mother."  
_"_...My sadness? What do I have to be sad about? ...I am the chosen one. I have been chosen to be the leader of this Planet. I have orders to take this planet back from you stupid people for the Cetra. What am I supposed to be sad about?" ...Indeed..._  
" _Only death awaits you all, but do not fear. For it is through death that new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of me. "_

Yes. Cloud meant nothing. His _friends _meant nothing.

That is, until Cloud defeated him and sent him into the Lifestream in the form of spirit energy. His six newly forged wings were deprived from him then, never to return to him. At least not to the same degree of perfectness.

He had never given in, even after his defeat, and immediately began his search anew as a spirit, a wandering soul, this time aiming to find a suitable physical host for himself. A host with the cells of Jenova. He would not die completely before all things hosting Jenova cells were killed. Still, it took him longer than it should to find one. Not a single human carried within his body the amount of cells Sephiroth preferred. Meanwhile Jenova arranged for diseases to strike the humans, effectively weakening and killing them. _Geostigma._ Only when one of the potential hosts, a pitiful, yet effective person named Kadaj, got hold of some entirely unused cells, was Sephiroth given the chance to return. Once again face to face with the blond-haired man whose sword had sent him to his death in the past, Sephiroth reappeared with new knowledge.

"_It has been a while, Cloud..." he greeted the man, their swords grinding against each other as Cloud's eyes widened. To him, it most likely looked as if Kadaj and Sephiroth had switched places rather than Kadaj having transformed into the former General. _

_They then jumped apart, Cloud frowning and Sephiroth smirking as he with landed with great grace before the younger man._

"_Have you lost the geostigma? ...What a disappointment." Yet, what a thrill it was to meet his killer again like this.  
_"_What the heck is it that you want?"_

_..._

"_My desire is this, Cloud. To use this planet as a ship to travel the darkness of this universe. Just like Mother did, long ago. We will eventually create a new planet... and imagine the possibility of a promising future there." That was right. Sephiroth cooperated with his Mother. She did not control him, yet he followed her suggestions because the Planet had been stolen by the humans from her and his own ancestors._

"_And what will happen to this Planet?" Cloud demanded. This planet? It had always been filled with despicable sinners.  
_"_Who knows. It is all up to you," his taunting reply sounded._

They had then fought for a fairly decent amount of time, destroying buildings and ruining houses while interacting – Sephiroth taunting Cloud, and Cloud retorting to the best of his ability:

"_Interesting. What made you stronger?"_  
"_I don't want to tell it to the likes of you!"_

_..._

"_I was thinking of a present for you." At times, when Cloud did not reply, Sephiroth continued baiting:_  
"_Shall I send you some despair?"_  
"_Kneel down, and show me the sight of you begging for mercy."_

_He pierced Cloud's shoulder and relished in his expression as he did. But...  
...He found he _could_ have pierced his heart with the same sword.  
_

"_What is the most important thing to you?" he asked, thinking that killing only _Cloud_ would not be enough.  
_"_Will you give me the happiness of taking that away from you?"  
_

_Angered, startled into action, Cloud pulled the sword out of his shoulder and got to his feet. The two fended each other off, watching each other's eyes more than observing their weapons. Then, after having jumped apart, a pause ensued that was long enough for the youngest of them to speak back without losing his breath._

_"How pitiful. You don't understand anything at all," Cloud spoke. Sephiroth charged, while Cloud continued speaking-_  
"_There's nothing that isn't important to me!" They forced each other off, Sephiroth jumping backwards into the air. And so he stayed there, floating._

_Then... Cloud used that cowardly powerful attack of his.  
...Again._

_A number of swords, each of which pierced, cut and stabbed him, yet leaving no wounds visible to the naked eye..._

"_Please stay quietly in my memories..."_

_It was with more than just a hint of bitterness that Sephiroth smirked at Cloud's words. But_ this _time, he _knew_ he could return. One day...  
While thinking this, a lone dark charcoal wing rapidly grew from his shoulder, until it was larger than himself._

"_I will not become a mere memory..." With those words spoken confidently, yet silently, the ex-General let his wing envelop him. And as his physical body was returned to Kadaj, Sephiroth's spirit energy dove into the Lifestream once more._

* * *

With the fall of Sephiroth, things shattered into pieces. The man who had been trusted with the safety of not only the population of the entire city of Midgar, but also the rest of the world, had turned his back on his status as a hero. There was nothing more he wished for than the death of those who went against his will. The rumors and tales of him were true: Sephiroth _was_ strong. So strong that when he fell, his fall really truly _was_ greater than that of any other person. These tales continued to flee the Planet, and every time they were spoken or mentioned, the faces of those who had experienced the great downfall were haunted by shadows. Each of them had, to some extent, felt that their lives were influenced by Shinra's rapidly changing policies and desperation in the wake of Sephiroth's choices. Especially after Sephiroth returned - as a villain feared beyond words, a complete contrast to what he had been before. That was also why the the peace was still strained, even after he was defeated again.

Feared as he was by his enemies Sephiroth continued to live, though only in the shape of pyreflies in the Lifestream. It was an odd thing for such a stained person as himself to admit that he relished in those moments – feeling not only the knowledge, but also experiencing the opinions and thoughts of those who were dead. The Lifestream kept flowing, always. A dark joy came upon him on the few occasions he 'met' President Shinra, whose presence was only despair and anger. He felt nothing at all, however, when he came across the others he had killed. At one time (in the very distant past, when he was still a General) he had felt no hate against them. Later, however, after his _'fall'_, he came to slowly start disliking them and eventually despising them.

But not now. Now he was merely indifferent.

Even when he came upon the souls of Zack and the woman Sephiroth had stabbed – Aerith – he remained cold, suppressing all emotions. He left them before they could communicate with him in any way. On another occasion he was taken to a woman named Lucrecia(he knew not how her name was so clear to him), but she vanished before he could determine exactly what she was. It was as if she was still alive, only visiting the Lifestream like he had once done himself. He had also been followed for a while, though peacefully, by the samurais, ninjas and warriors of Wutai. They had displayed their feelings of honor and pride to have fought him, but they also made no attempts whatsoever to hide the fact that they were highly... _displeased_ with his downfall _– _apparently he was staining their pride, because in their eyes, they had lost and been killed by one who was now a great threat to humankind. And in a way, he understood. For now, the only person whose presence he had yet to detect was Rimm. But she was not one he should be thinking of.

While he was in the Lifestream absorbing knowledge, a numb sensation was making him reluctant to move by himself, so he gave in to the currents and let the Lifestream show him memories of places and times he had not experienced during his own lifetime.

When he finally found another physical host for himself, he quietly ascended upon the Planet once more.

And as coincidence wanted it, the place that appeared before his eyes when he opened them, was Gongaga. Zack's hometown, and also Rimm's.

* * *

**R.R.**  
Well, the time skip had to be done. I'll make up for deh shortness later.


	22. The Prison, Gongaga and the Mansion

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, and I just can't come up with a way to say that in a way that makes it funny to read.

* * *

The Prison, Gongaga, and the Mansion

* * *

Ceaseless rain had long since taken its toll on the vast plains surrounding Midgar, wherein the structures still stood stubbornly upright. It was a wonder it did not look worse. The comet had been reflected in the last minute. Even now, years afterward, the city still stood tall, though not nearly as proudly as it had done in the past. People still lived there, many more than what would have been the case had the meteor attack been successful. Despite having endured, the city did in a way seem _colder_ than before, even though its many denizens were leading lives that were far more laid-back than in the past. No reactors were operative, not in Midgar, nor in any other place. Now, the reactors were only ruins. The veils of thin winter snow was slowly retreating, the cold months finally having claimed all they had come for.

The gray and white city was perhaps lacking in liveliness, but it seemed peaceful and comfortable nonetheless, despite the cold. Shinra was no longer operative, at least not as an energy and electricity company, as had been the case before.

Yet, unbeknown to those who were beginning to forget the events of the past, there existed a few persons who were still not ready to let go and accept all the things that had happened. These were not finished with Sephiroth. And they did not want Sephiroth to believe he had finished his business with _them, _either. No matter how their views of him differed from that of each other, these few persons had to stay in the same place, under the same roof – whether they wanted to or not. The same things and procedures were repeated over and over from day to day. It made it seem as if time stood still, and their lives were gradually, imperceptibly, derived of colors from one moment to another. And it had been like that since the day Sephiroth had decided to dive into the abyss.

"You look worse today," Kurai commented, holding one of the bars that so inconveniently kept her inside. It was strictly _not_ necessary for them to keep her in such a jail cell; She was already weakened to the point of being unable to properly respond. She had been there for months, perhaps more - ever since the day they had taken her out of her Mako tube.

"...Not going to answer me?" he continued, as was usual. Her eyes flickered, carrying a glowing hue of Mako, but no longer overly so. She was sitting in the empty, dingy cell, wearing pants that were too big and a sweatshirt with arms that were too long for her arms. Prison clothes taken from somewhere. No socks, nor shoes clothed her feet, and her hair was long and dirty, obviously uncombed. Her lips were pale and dry, and despite the Mako, her eyes seemed blank. There was no humor at all to be found in her languid features. She sat on the muddy floor, sloped to the point where her back was at an odd angle and it could not be decided whether it touched the floor more than the wall. Her arms were at her side, her open palms facing up. In all aspects, she was now a prisoner. As for Kurai, the only visible change in his appearance was a slightly dark hue under his eyes. _That,_ and his hair was longer - revealing small waves in his white locks. Instead of standing up, it was now combed back, stopping at the middle of his neck.

The door to her cell was opened and Kurai placed a bowl of something warm on the floor.  
Rimm stirred and pulled herself up to her knees, then struggled closer and hurriedly let her trembling hands hold the bowl as if to warm herself.

"Heh. You should be grateful that I warmed it for you, Rimm. Are you going to than-"

The hot soup was flung at him and hit his face. Instantly, he groaned in pain caused him by the hot contents of the bowl. Temporarily blinded, Kurai could do nothing but attack at whim when he felt his cell key being snapped from his belt. He wiped his eyes and turned around only to have the door slammed almost literally in his face. Trembling more than earlier, Rimm locked the door with the lone key before he could recuperate properly. Escaping like this was not ideal, since there was a possibility she would meet a few guards around, but she already knew this. She had tried running away on numerous occasions, only having managed to get out of her cell a select few times. But this was a good start - even though she was weaker than ever, and despised that fact thoroughly.

"You..." Kurai growled. Rimm backed away when he jumped at the cell bars and reached for her.

Rimm let her back hit the wall on the opposite side of the narrow, cold corridor and struggled not to slide down. What now? Kurai could call for the guards at any time. He had a cellphone. Though, to tell the truth, she didn't know why they were still trying so hard to keep her there. Her... Her Mako treatment was already finished. After staying in one of those tubes for who-knew-how-long, she had been thrown into this place and started aging again. Before disappearing and never returning, Hojo had left things in Kurai's and one other scientist's hands. Kurai was guarding her, along with a few others he had hired later. The new scientist only monitored her, nothing more. But before leaving, Hojo had also mentioned something about not letting Rimm go until _'Sephiroth returns and you are able to arrange a meeting'. _She didn't know why he had said such a thing, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that even though Sephiroth was presumably dead, he was going to return. Because he had done so at least once before. Hojo was gone, though. Kurai had told her how it happened - that a gang called 'Avalanche' was at fault.

But for now she just wanted to leave this place. That was the only clear thought she could concentrate on.

"Co-... Cow-Ray. Ass. It was _not_ nice meeting you." Though quiet and absolutely not spoken with humor, her sarcasm clearly conveyed her point. Kurai eyed her.

"I _am_ going to call the guards again. They are not here right now, but you probably guessed that. Still, with my cellphone, I can easily call them and tell them to seize the _'weak-looking woman with Mako eyes'_ again," Kurai said, his eyes now narrowed(as usual), and Rimm pushed herself of the wall and started to walk down the barely lit stone corridor, her breath already ragged. She didn't reply.

"...You know you can't make it. I'll make one of the others come down here and free me, then I'll join the pursuit and hunt you down personally. Just like the time you managed to escape to _call your parents._"

Rimm's fists clenched for a moment, but she resisted his bait and kept walking. She _had_ managed to escape before, yes, and she had called her parents - something that would have been impossible before. During her fifteen years in Hojo's custody, Gonaga had 'gone modern' - or so her parents had told her after their reunion. They had even bought themselves a phone, and had given her their number, and she had given them hers. Of this reason, not so long ago when she managed to escape from her prison, she had called her parents. She had only done so after feeling convinced that Kurai and his henchmen had lost her. But then the guards had caught her again and brought her back here; She had been kept in this small, old stone building in a part of Midgar that no one else lived in. Far from other people. So now, when she heard Kurai start to dial a number behind her, she forced herself to move faster while gritting her teeth.

_If it hadn't been for the extra guards..._ Rimm stumbled up the stairs and squinted as she opened the door leading outside into the dark. Cold air pooled at her feet and made her eyes water. A very thin layer of powdery snow covered the ground, ready to leave her footprints when she left, making her sigh in worried frustration. She tried stepping where her footprints wouldn't be as visible – on pieces of newspapers and old garbage. Time didn't exactly stop for her sake. When would the guards come? Their eating quarters couldn't be _that _close, but not too far away either. There simply didn't exist a restaurant or shop _nearby_.

Rimm had only made her way around one corner of the building before she heard a car arrive.

Someone slammed the door and entered the _prison_, as she so fittingly called it(and would continue calling it for the rest of eternity, always with intense dislike and loathing apparent in her voice whenever she decided to speak the word). She never wanted to return to that prison cell again. But just now, only one person had arrived. Could it be the scientist? Peeking around the corner, she saw that the car headlights were still on. The engine of the car, though quiet, was still going.

A golden chance. _Oh, yes._ The car was a chance so golden that it was almost blinding her, though only symbolically, and she found she didn't really want to call it a golden chance after all, but rather a diamond chance, because the car had literally been served on a silver (or snow) platter for her to use. So she hurried to the car, her sudden movement making her dizzy due to lack of food and water, and she quietly opened the door on the right hand side. After getting in, she placed her cold, red feet in front of her, ready to step on the pedals. Where was the reverse thing? What was she supposed to do now? ...Her lack of driver knowledge was definitely something of great disadvantage. Perhaps this chance _was_ golden - and not diamond - after all. But if she couldn't find the _reverse_ pedal(or was she supposed to look for a _hand lever?_), she just had to drive _forward_ and turn the car around completely. It was a jeep, so it would be fine. Or something. At least that was how it had looked on the safari programs on TV.

...She didn't really know if jeeps were easy to turn, but she would find out by trying – that was the right way to do things. Her own way. The pathetically amateurish way that made her nostalgia grow in strength to such a degree that her humorous way of thinking (and comparing things to each other) was returning again.

Slamming the car door shut before the scientist and Kurai returned for her, she stepped on _the pedal_. Or _one_ of the pedals. Nothing happened, so she stepped on the second one. It didn't work either. Frantically she pushed down the last one as far as it went and tried pushing down one of the others at the same time, resulting in the entire car jerking forward. Rimm turned the hand wheel too, as far as it would let her, and turned the car around fully. She tried adjusting the speed by lightening the pressure on the pedals, but then the car almost stopped, so she stepped down again and almost crashed into a wall, then let go a little and nearly stopped again. The gas pedal was too sensitive. That meant the car was new. And that meant the scientist was filthy rich(if jeeps were expensive). Expensive or not, for potential onlookers Rimm undoubtedly looked like a newbie. Which she was. And then moving shadows appeared in the distance(or people, actually, but Rimm disliked these tall guard-man-persons so much that her sense of vision did not let her register them as anything else but _shadows_). Rimm successfully - and miraculously, though she would never use that particular word to describe herself - turned the car around so it faced the road.

And now knowing which was the gas pedal, she stepped on it and drove the heck out of there, the wheels of the car screaming in sync with the shouts of the big, lumpy, solid shadows that were the angry guards.

* * *

It was so quiet he could hear himself think. Sentiments that were otherwise safely sealed into the deepest corners of his mind were leaking out, having been unlocked and freed by the mere sight of this small village that he did not really know. Truly, for having spent only a couple of days of his long life here, this place was ravaging his mind more than he liked. His head was occupied with one thought after another, most notably the waterfalls under which he had spent time training, and the coy smile of a person he wanted to erase from his memory. And from the very second _that certain coy smile_ and _that certain person_ entered his mind, Sephiroth felt his thoughts continue on their rampage, touching every moment he had spent awaiting her, despite knowing that her return was never to come. Such thoughts and hopes were irrational and illogical. Also, when they appeared before his mind's eye, they were startlingly _incoherent_. But the images were still vivid.

He had been offered no such thing as a second opportunity to tell her what had developed in his soul while she had still been around.

...How he suffered from her absence.  
And how he despised suffering for such a reason.

Most of all, he had to be prepared for the time and years to come and pass. He could afford no such thing as pain to dull him. Jenova was already stinging in his chest, wordlessly urging him to leave the warm place that was Gongaga, and even encouraged him to punish the people living there for having tainted his thoughts with hesitance. Hesitance? To think that _he, _Sephiroth, the last Ancient and the avenger of Jenova, could waver for even a second. He could not allow himself to display such a humanly trait. There was no specific reason – after all, he could manage fine even _with _said trait. However, since Jenova preferred him to abstain from it, he would - because Jenova's blood was purer than that of himself. She was a pure-blood Ancient, but he had a long path to walk in order to try and become one. Because he was born as half human, he had to work hard to gain perfectness.

Currently, the two most obvious signs of him being something else than a mere human, were his _wings._

The first time he had fought Cloud, six wings had adorned his back. At their second meeting and fight, only one wing had appeared – and it had only done so right before the conclusion of their battle. Now he had _two_ imposing charcoal wings, each of them larger than himself by far. Whereas the single wing from before had been too weak for him to fly with, these wings could carry him even if he chose not to utilize his levitation skill. The wings themselves struck him as odd. He did not know the true meaning behind them, nor if they were granted to him as a message from somebody or something he had not yet gained knowledge of. Even so, he did not complain. Why would he do such a thing? To him, the wings were something precious. They could take him away from this place much faster than his ability to levitate. They could let him leave Gongaga and escape the triggering of his memories at any given time. Yet, if he _wished_, he _could_ make them disappear.

But he did not wish to leave Gongaga just yet. There was something he needed to make sure of.

* * *

Rimm was in the middle of the _sea_ in the middle of the _night._

She was all alone, with the exception of the man who owned the boat she had _begged _to borrow. Since the boat was so dear to him and he hadn't wanted to part with it under any circumstances, he had only reluctantly agreed to take her to her next destination as fast as possible. Aboard were extra gasoline for the boat, as well as the man's lunch. Rimm still hadn't eaten anything, though she'd had plenty to drink on the way. The reason behind her not having eaten was that in contrast to plain sink water, food actually cost money. And she didn't have time (nor did she _want_) to go around begging for money. On her long jeep-trip to Kalm(a village to the north-east of Midgar), Kurai and the guards had been on her tail in vehicles of their own. By the time she arrived all the muscles in her arms and hands were hurting from clutching the hand wheel. It had been hard letting go.

And since she was in such a hurry at that time, she had shouted at the top of her lungs to everyone in town if they had _"a chocobo, some gasoline for my car, or a boat?!"_ A few persons had perplexedly pointed towards the great river that lead to the great ocean. And _there_ she had found a single boat. Its owner had flatly refused to let her borrow it.

So she had offered to give him the jeep somewhat guiltily(only since the jeep was _dented_ after some miscalculated driving on her part, and _not_ because the jeep was _not hers_ but rather belonged to a scientist that was filthy rich - probably). Either way, the man had accepted somewhat warily and told her _he _would be _driving_ the boat. Or _sailing_ it. Or something else, since the thing didn't have wheels or sails, only a motor. She should just call it motoring. Or else her thinking would absorb what was left of her depleted energy.

Speaking of thinking, back in Midgar she had thought she would have to shake her pursuers off and find a phone(to call Reno and get a helicopter ride), but that wasn't needed at all. There was a cellphone _in the car. _She had used it to call the redhead, who she hadn't spoken with in ages, and who also had no idea she was alive(judging from his senseless rambling). But since it proved absolutely impossible to shake off the guards following her in the city that they knew so well, she had left Midgar and aimed for Kalm. It didn't really matter. Through Reno's blabbering, which had gradually calmed down, she had heard him say that they didn't have access to any helicopters anymore. Or something like that. And she didn't know how involved they were in the supposedly "dead" Shinra Company. As much as she felt she needed a remark or joke from Reno to get her spirits up, she needed to get to her destination first.

Nibelheim.

And that was how she ended up in the middle of the ocean in a boat which had a motor that sounded more like a machine-gun with a bad cold, rather than the engine of a water vessel. Jet-black night and freezing air were their company.

"Where – are – we?" she asked as loudly as she could manage, the boat bumping each time it hit a wave. She had a headache which might as well have been caused by a family of living, constantly partying boulders which had decided to move into her head.

"We're between Icicle Inn, North Corel and Rocket Town – or between the northern continent and the western continent, if you have no knowledge of the position of said towns."  
Rimm said nothing. How did he manage to keep his voice so steady and controlled when the boat kept jumping like that?

"We're halfway there," he added, as if she hadn't understood his explaining. And to tell the truth, she really hadn't registered what he'd said.

* * *

By the time the boat slowed down and came to a complete stop by a shore _somewhere, _Rimm was so cold that her hands were literally blue, and her skin was whiter than it should be by far. Seeing as she was still wearing her "prison clothes" – black, dirty pants and a sweatshirt that was too big – it had not been easy at all to stay somewhat warm. Her feet were still bare, but now a pale green or yellow rather than red. The boat engine was off, but even if it had been on, the clattering of her teeth would have drowned the noise to some degree. She was _not_ warm. She was not lukewarm. She was not cold. She was freezing, her blood about to turn into some sort of red ice. Fearing that she would die – almost literally – the man had offered her a piece of his lunch, saying it was for "giving him the jeep." But she had already forgotten about the jeep and was currently quite occupied with trying to find out what the heck she was doing.

"Then, will you be fine?" the man asked, watching her stand on the shore, her feet surrounded by dead, frost-covered grass.

Rimm nodded.

After turning around and mentally praying that one of the houses in Nibelheim had a fireplace and some food, she started walking. After about twenty seconds or so, she heard a machine-gun-like-sound and almost threw herself to the ground to take cover before realizing it was just the the noise of the boat motor. She took a deep breath and sighed; Her breath formed a small, misty cloud as it escaped her. Haphazardly glancing in all directions, she found no fiends at all, despite being able to see most of the vast, frozen plains. But she _could_ see the houses of Nibelheim. Some of the windows were lit. They were a fair distance away, though. But she wanted to go there, no matter what, to find out just what had made Sephiroth do what he had done. Only then would she be satisfied - and hopefully ready to meet Sephiroth.

When Hojo was still around, he had told her that Sephiroth believed she was dead, but that _that _hadn't been what made Sephiroth wreak havoc to such an extent. Would she, too, be angered by what she found in Nobelheim? Or had Sephiroth found something that was only of concern to himself?

"Geeh...h..." she uttered as a thought struck her. If a very small gust happened to blow in her direction, she would be knocked to the ground instantly. That meant she had to make food and rest her main priority, rather than searching for old documents, clues and whatnot first. How observant of her to notice that _now_.

Thus, after much later arriving in the ghost-like town of Nibelheim, she knocked on the first door she could find. No one opened, so she forced the frozen-in-place door open. By that time it was early morning, and the sun was almost up.

"Hello?" she managed, her voice hoarse and loud in the cold silence. Nothing stirred, and no sounds broke the silence to give her a reply. The floor felt odd to walk on – her bare feet were numb and felt like cold bricks more than anything else. Her nose instantly started running at the noticeably higher temperature inside. With a crouched back(as if somehow still trying to keep the cold away), she searched the house for the source of the warmth. She found it in the kitchen. Naturally, since the fireplace had been lit, people obviously lived here. Now only coal and glowing embers were left. She was lucky no one had heard her call - whoever lived in the house were heavy sleepers. Thankful for this, Rimm bent closer to the dying fire and held her hands close to the strong, yet fading warmth.

She stood like this for several minutes before quietly pulling out a chair from the table. Then she sat down and placed both her feet on the hearth framing the the fireplace. For a second she could have sworn her toes seethed and were about to start melting. Slowly warmth returned to her, and once even her bones felt fairly warm, she silently put the chair back where it belonged and went to search for _food. _Since she hadn't asked for permission, and since the ones living in the house had no idea she was "borrowing" food, Rimm couldn't help it - she felt a little guilty. _And_ nostalgic. This was something she and Sephiroth had done together way back in the past. He had been so intelligent and innocent back then. He was _still_ smart, though. But now he had some things on his record that couldn't be forgotten easily. Nonetheless she wanted to find his reasons and, if possible, find Sephiroth himself.

Thus, after eating her fair share of food, she reluctantly left. The frost was now starting to melt, as the sun had barely risen, making the small village look like it was glowing. Instead of clear, cold air, a layer of mist was shrouding the small houses.

Where to?

Surely she had heard Kurai demand Hojo to tell him more about the Shinra _mansion... _That was why she was here in the first place.

The mansion it was, then. The big, gloomy, dark, ghostly, dusty(she couldn't even see through the windows), ancient, ancienter, ancientest rotten building she had ever seen that was still standing upright, more or less. To add to the horrible chill that ravaged her spine when watching the place, there was a tall and thick brick wall with a cemetery-like metal spear gate for her to walk through. No neighbor-friendly picket fence to be seen. Uninviting in all entirety. This was like an old, haunted castle with spooks and fiends waiting exclusively to scare _her, _and she would be a fool to waltz inside believing otherwise. But it had to be done. And if she saw fiends, she just had to run. So, insistent to prove that she, too, could be a man and not a bother, she opened the metal gate and headed for the large main doors of the mansion. And once she was inside, the place _still_ looked huge, sinister, ghostlike, moth-eaten, and old – older than all the buildings in town.

Where in the world should she start looking? Frowning, she glanced around. Since it was an old, seemingly expensive mansion, perhaps there was an office or a library somewhere. If she couldn't find one, she would simply _have to_ look around all over the house. But first she would get an overview. That would make her feel a little safer.

"H-" Rimm stopped before she could say _'hello'._ That would draw attention from the fiends in there.

Swallowing without a sound, she glanced around and walked into the first room on the left and the rooms connected to it, without finding anything of significance. Then she returned to the main hall and looked over the other rooms and corners briefly, before walking up the stairs. From there, she walked to the left and found some other rooms, all of them messy and full of old furniture, dead plants and other things she wasn't sure how to describe. One of the rooms, though, had lots of papers and things in it, so she had a closer look. By then her heart was pounding really fast, as if she really shouldn't be there at all. But the papers were just old newspapers and magazines. Probably the remains of a collection or something.

Displeased and increasingly nervous, Rimm went back to the main hall (but stayed on the upper floor) and passed the staircase, venturing deeper into the shadowy building that was covered with webs and was full of fiends and insects. Thanks to the still rising sun that managed to shine through the dusty windows, her search was made much easier. But with light came more monsters. She could hear them stirring. So, after searching all the remaining rooms without luck, she ended up in a bedroom that was oddly clean compared to the others. It was still dusty enough for her feet to be protected from the cold floor to some degree - and it looked unused - but it _was tidier_, and Rimm caught herself wondering if someone had been living there at one point. Perhaps that somebody was on vacation? Then again, perhaps someone just cleaned up the room to make it look nice.

Why would someone do such a thing?

"What are y-"  
"_Daaah!_" she shouted, swirling around and holding up her arms while quickly, swiftly backing away.

One glance at the man before her would have made her gasp if it hadn't been for the fact that she seemed unable to breathe properly at all, but to make up for it, her eyes widened considerably.

_A vampire..!_  
The man was most definitely a vampire! For a moment she desperately tried remembering if she had eaten onions back in the village - if she had, would she be safe against him? Or was he actually a fiend rather than some monster with extremely human attributes? She was as close to start whimpering as she could come, because he was truly intimidating, and she thus found herself recoiling until she was hunched by a wall. The only door in the room was closer to the fiend-man than to herself.

"...Calm yourself. I am not what you seem to believe I am." That told her nothing. He could be lying. Though right now, it was not physically possible for her to get further away from him, so she stayed where she was, her arms now lowered and her fists clenched. Though her eyes were still wide, she was frowning, as if to show she had collected herself somewhat. The man blinked slowly and averted his – notably – _red_ eyes, then looked back with increased determination. This time she _did _whimper. Though barely audible, the super-pale, super-tall(though not as tall as Sephiroth), super-intimidating man gave a sigh. Not one of exasperation, but something else that seemed unlikely for one who looked as dangerous and mysterious as himself.

"I am human."

Human. He was a human. He really _was _a human. Could she... believe his words? A fiend shouldn't be smart enough to say such a thing on its own. So he was a human. He had to be.  
..._Why, of course!_ ...How foolish of her to think all those horrible things about him being something other than that.

"I just- uh, are you... friendly?" Such a stupid thing to ask. But better than _'are you really human'_.

"I am no threat." His voice was louder now, and it made her feel smaller and more uncomfortable than before. Now was not the time for her to be looking like a frightened deer in a lion park. Rimm cleared her voice and straightened bit, but not fully. Lowering her hands, she struggled not to wince under his gaze as he eyed her attire. She really _did _look like an escaped prisoner. She had to hurry and wake some kind of sympathy before he decided in his mind that she was a threat that he needed to report to the police.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare, uh, no, _get frightened_, but you... you took me off guard."  
That told him nothing of importance that he didn't already know. Clearly. He didn't reply.

"So, I'm here because... because...." she hesitated, in desperate need to regain some of her usually rude confidence.  
"Because I was held captive against my will. In Midgar." _Good. Keep the guts coming._

"...By scientists?" His voice was quieter again.

Rimm wavered, not understanding. Was her Mako treatment strong enough to make her eyes glow? She had heard of that happening. But of this man to come to that conclusion so quickly was weird. Perhaps he was familiar with experiments. She searched his face without coming too close to his crimson orbs. If he was familiar with scientists, it was not because he was one himself, but maybe because he had been experimented on. That was how he looked, anyway. If so, it should be safe to talk with him about it. To some extent. So she nodded slowly in response.

"Then tell the truth. What brought you here." It was a demand, one uttered in such a way that made Rimm look straight into his eyes and then thoroughly regret it.  
"I'm here to find out what made Sephiroth so angry!" ...If she was killed now, would it be without regrets, since she knew she had told the truth?

"...There is nothing here that can make you understand," he said, his voice now once again a little louder than before. That dark, low, strong, clear voice...

"Stop it!" she shouted at the black-haired, tall vampire man. And she once again regretted it thoroughly.  
"...Stop what?"

"That! _Talking!_ My spine is breaking!" That probably made no sense whatsoever to him. What was really happening was that his voice was so dark it sent shivers down her spine, in the frightening way. It was like listening to a ghost without knowing if she should be scared to death or nodding her head in sympathy and compliance. And the latter was obviously not even an option.

But he was now frowning, and she was trembling because of it. Rimm looked away, her attention directed at the dusty curtains framing the grimy, dewy window. Right now she had probably indirectly insulted him so much that it couldn't hurt if she went all the way:

"See, I knew the _good _Sephiroth, so I want to know what he found out. Then I'll leave." Did she even look old enough for him to believe her words?  
The man cocked his head only a little at that, his clawed hand twitching as he shifted. When he did, his lithe cloak billowed around him, moving in place again after he stopped.

"If that is so, will you leave if I convey to you the main facts?" he inquired, watching her.

She nodded, information gathering in her mind – words she had heard Hojo speak to Kurai in an attempt to explain the whole situation surrounding Sephiroth. The Professor had told Kurai many things on many different occasions, but Rimm had put it together in her mind, also adding opinions of her own to the professor's words:

At that time, in Nibelheim, Sephiroth had found in the library archives that told him his mother was a being by the name of Jenova, which Sephiroth read was an Ancient. Of this reason he had come to the conclusion that all his achievements were not achievements he had made on his own, but rather accomplishments he had only managed to carry out because of Jenova – meaning he would not nearly have managed to become a General on his own – and he became certain that Shinra had been deceiving him all his life. Shinra had, until that moment, made him commit many horrible acts, and because of that, Sephiroth wished for nothing else than to avenge this and regain the honor of himself and his deceased mother, so to speak. Therefore he had, in every possible way, bereaved Shinra of their workers, bosses, Soldiers and most notably those who bowed before the will of the aforementioned. He eventually came to blame all of humanity – he started believing they were the ones who stole the Planet from his mother and her people. What Sephiroth wished was to retrieve it.

Right about now, Rimm was expecting the vampire-like man to start at the very beginning, telling her about the influences made on Sephiroth by Hojo, Shinra, _President_ Shinra, Soldier, Sephiroth's past friends and the war waged against Wutai. Things she had already heard about a little. She was expecting a long story that would put everything into perspective. Somehow, she was even hoping that the story to come would, at least, justify Sephiroth's doings to_ a certain degree_, more than the things she had already found out or heard. What she wanted to hear was an explanation behind his complete transformation. Something that could prepare her to meet with him again, and that could give her a clue as to what she would talk about.

The Sephiroth she had heard tales of, was not..._  
Not..._ the Sephiroth she had _used to know._

"In this mansion, Sephiroth found many reports and documents. What he failed to discover, however, was that professor Hojo hid two significant facts."

Rimm's interest perked. "What facts?"

And because of everything she had already heard and that she though she already knew - when the vampire-like man silently, yet quickly gathered everything of significance into something so much smaller than the story she had expected - she was devastated.

"Jenova, which was assumed to be Sephiroth's mother, was _not_ an Ancient, nor a creature of this planet. It was an extraterrestrial being. This fact was revealed and confirmed to Avalanche on their journey to defeat Sephiroth." His words were spoken fast, but quietly, with breaks to make sure she had understood. In a way she had. But that didn't mean she believed it right away. Jenova was an extraterrestrial being..?

Now he turned halfway around so his shoulder faced her, as if to take his leave, but she made no signs of having noticed this as he continued:  
"Secondly, the mother of Sephiroth... is not Jenova... but rather a human woman into whose womb a considerable amount of Jenova's cells were injected before Sephiroth was born into this world."

* * *

**R.R.**

O_O


	23. Surprises

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, but I have my own fantasies to make up for it(which by the way tend to have Final Fantasy tendencies after all.)

I ate chocolate while reading your reviews and almost choked with bliss - **thanks**, you people! (-happiness oozes out of puppy eyes-)  
And I think that between _quality_ and _quantity_, I choose quality. So... sorry if the last _two_ updates are late... (try thinking of them as late X-mas gifts or something)

* * *

Surprises

* * *

"_Chasing after Sephiroth will do you no good, even if he returns. He will not listen."_

Those were some of the last words the red-clad, pale man had spoken to her. After that, she had left the cold mansion in somewhat of a daze. At complete and utter loss of what to do next, she had gone to the Inn in Nibelheim – which had opened only moments after sunrise, she guessed – and asked if she could borrow a phone. They complied, although oddly apprehensively of some reason, and she warily dialed her parents' number. The seconds that followed were oddly quiet, save for the beeping sounds of the phone. Rimm waited, but no one replied, leaving her in the silent, strained atmosphere that of some reason existed between herself and the owners of the Inn. Maybe the telephone was broken. No, that wasn't possible – judging from the beeps, it was safe to assume the phone _was_ working. So her parents simply weren't answering. Then they were most likely outside.

A little embarrassed to be intruding – since the owners of the phone seemed so uneasy – Rimm thanked the couple for lending her their phone and awkwardly asked if she could borrow the restroom, too. The lady of the house hastily nodded, and even though the man looked suspicious, he did nothing to stop his wife when she showed Rimm the way.

And soon, she found out just why they were so ill at ease.

It was her hair.

"What... is this..." Breathless, she supported herself with her hands on the counter while staring into the mirror above the sink. Sure, it was longer than before, and her forelocks (which used to come down to right past her cheekbones) now went past her jaw. That couldn't be helped. She could fix it later with a scissor. But the roots of her hair, which were currently about the length of a finger, were _silver._ A dark, dirty silver that really didn't look silver at all, but could be described as _rusty _instead, only without the actual _color_ of rust. Somehow.

"What the..?!" she exclaimed almost angrily, grabbing handfuls of her hair in both hands. Then her eyes wandered, and she was struck off guard one more time when she saw her eyebrows and eyelashes – they were also silver.

"This can't be happening..!" she muttered in an unbelieving whisper as she mentally ransacked her brain to find out _why,_ exactly, her hair was as silver as it was. Sephiroth's hair was silver. And beautifully so. That most likely had something to do with Hojo's experiments. Perhaps Jenova was involved. Then, _theoretically,_ Rimm could be involved with Jenova too – but to which degree? She must have been some sort of randomly chosen experiment that Hojo had given Jenova cells or something. Was that dangerous..? To be hosting cells of Jenova, that is?

And then she recalled the vampire-man's final words to her, which only now made sense:  
_"Give up your search, remnant."_

Really, when he had said that so easily, she had been angered. Rimm was no leftover or remainder. She wasn't something searching for a main part. At that time, after his silent leave, she had confusedly left without knowing what to do or where to go next. But now she knew something important that had never occurred to her before. She was sure Kurai (or was it Hojo?) had mentioned it; _Remnants_ were beings, or actually humans, that had Jenova cells. Their sole ambition was to... What was it? Find their main source? ...Jenova was dead, and had literally been cut into pieces and handed to different persons. Then, maybe all these people believed that _Sephiroth_ – who was the most powerful person on the Planet, and who had been injected with Jenova's cells so early in his life – could somehow forge all the pieces of Jenova together again? ...In other words a _remnant_ was one who spent all his (or her, for that matter) time searching for Sephiroth. _Remnants_ were obsessed with him. Even though the vampire-man had thought _she_ was a remnant, Rimm couldn't exactly describe herself as 'obsessed' – that would be a lie.

...Even though she cared for him a whole lot.

* * *

Sephiroth had yet to approach Gongaga, despite his intentions to have a closer look at certain matters. For the last couple of days he had merely been circling the fertile, small mountains that distinguished the Gongaga area from the wasteland around it. Despite moving around only during the night – so as not to be seen – there was always somebody up and around, watching the village. This exuberant paranoia of theirs was annoying, but he did not wish to be seen. He did not want people to spread rumours about his return that could make Cloud come and cause trouble - not because Sephiroth could not handle Cloud, of course, but rather of the reason that _Sephiroth himself _wished to be the one who initiated a surprise attack. Thus, Cloud would only catch a glimpse of him before his death.

Despite not letting anyone see him, however, there seemed to be _one _person in Gongaga who could somehow sense that he was there.

This person, who was by far the most paranoid of them all, was – ironically – a small, old lady. She was nowhere to be seen during the day, but showed up in the night to guard her village and hometown, sporting a headscarf, an old apron and – of all things for an elderly to carry – a long scythe that by all means belonged in the fields. This woman, who otherwise would not be of any significance at all, was constantly staring _in his direction._ She could not see him, because he hid well in the shadows of trees and moss-covered boulders. One thing was for sure: There was no way she could _know_ he was there. Yet, even after Sephiroth moved to stand at the other side of the village – still out of sight – her eyes followed him. She could sense his presence. That was the only explanation. And as long as she did, he could not approach the village without being seen.

* * *

It was only after leaving the Inn that she realized she didn't know where to go.

No, that wasn't right. Since she had no idea where to search for Sephiroth, Rimm wanted to go to her parents in Gongaga. But she had no idea how. The boat man from earlier was long gone, she was sure, and she was currently two thirds of a continent away from her destination. If she walked, she would either get lost on the way, be stopped by someone, get lost on the way, come across an impassable thing such as a huge river or enormous mountain or vast forest, or get lost on the way. She had no money, food or suitable clothes, and no means of protecting herself against fiends. And even if she somehow managed to contact her parents, they wouldn't be able to help her out anyway. Really, who else was there to call?

Then, from behind, someone shook her shoulders so hard that she feared her neck was going to break, and she wriggled away from the person's grip and turned with an angry face.

"...You?!" she said disbelievingly, her words sounding more like a relieved breath.

"Rimm!" greeted the grinning, red-haired man before grabbing her shoulders again, this time proceeding by giving her a real man-hug and a pat on the back. Thrilled, Rimm hugged the goggle-wearing Reno back and ruffled his jacket, not yet strong enough to break away. Not that she wanted to.  
"And we thought you were dead, yo!" Reno exclaimed as they pulled back to look at one another. Reno looked a little older, but not at all much – and he was acting like his usual self. Currently, his cheeks were a tad bit red because of the cold, and his (and also Rimm's) breath formed small formations of mist between the two of them.

"It was all Hojo's fault!" Rimm exclaimed back, flashing an expression of strong dislike, and her short answer was all the explanation Reno needed to grasp the situation somewhat.

"So that small bastard still has it comin' for him, eh? Thought he was dead, yo,"  
What he meant, she wasn't completely sure, but they could both explain things to each other a little later. First, she wanted to know _how,_ exactly, he had managed to get all the way to Nibelheim without a helicopter.

"How did you get here?" she asked.

"Well, you asked earlier – on the phone, remember – if I could get you to Nibelheim. But we had no chopper at our disposal, yo," Reno said, cocking his head as a gradually growing smirk became apparent.

Rimm watched him expectantly, wondering if Reno had gotten his hands on a boat, like she had.

"So me and Rude _borrowed_ a helicopter."

* * *

Half a day later, the three of them arrived in Gongaga, Rimm so worn out she would do _anything_ for a bath, proper clothes, a haircut, some food and a place to try to sleep. Reno and Rude (mostly Reno) had explained to her all of the things happening while she was gone – mainly about the Avalanche group that had defeated Sephiroth – while asking her numerous questions on the way; Questions including why she hadn't aged, why the heck her hair was silver(about which Reno made a whole 'new' collection of jokes that Rimm was sure she had heard him use about Sephiroth in the past), why she had gone ahead to Nibelheim first(and not Gongaga), and finally, why she hadn't tried contacting them _before._ She replied in a daze to most of the questions, wondering a little why they seemed to be in such a hurry to get her to answer.

When she asked, they revealed that their rush was caused by the fact that they had borrowed the helicopter – it was the only aircraft President Rufus owned, and he was going to use it that very evening. If Tseng noticed it was gone(or if Elena noticed and told Tseng, who would no doubt tell Rufus), things would turn out pretty bad. But the two of them promised to come back to Gongaga as soon as possible(when they found a suitable vehicle), and Rimm rigidly said she would call if she needed them.

Though she didn't let it show that she actually wanted them to stay for just a little longer in the oh-so-rainy Gongaga, she _was_ a bit glad when they left. The smartest thing to do was to go to her parents alone, without two (or one, for that matter) fiery Turks. There were so many things she wanted to know and to find out. Thus, when the helicopter took off(with Reno waving an arm in her general direction and Rude reaching for Reno in an attempt to make the red-head focus on steering), Rimm rushed to her small hometown and made way to her parents' house without stopping on the way – the rain was pouring. Their yard was, as always, overgrown with plants that did a mighty good job insulating the small grass-roof hut of theirs. Seeing as it was evening, it wouldn't come as a surprise if her parents had gone to their neighbors to exchange a few rumors or to simply pay a visit(they had often done so in the past, when she still lived in Gongaga), so she thought nothing of it when there were no lights inside.

Entering, she welcomed the dry, comfy warmth that the small fireplace provided. Only glowing charcoals were left behind, though. In contrast to the wintry northern hemisphere, it was actually warm in Gongaga – it was late summer. Yet, her parents still used the fireplace. Probably as extra light. It was already more than warm enough.

"Hello..?" she asked anxiously, but no one replied.

Thinking they would be back pretty soon, she hurried to the tiny closet that was their bathroom and cleaned herself up. After getting into new clothes – or _old_, to be frank – she let her hair dry while searching for some food. There wasn't much at all. Some juice and old apples, at most. She ate them, relishing in the familiar, nostalgic feeling of wearing her own garments. She wore black pants with patches on the knees – not because her pants had been worn out so much she _had_ to sew the patches on, but rather because she had _bought_ her pants like that. Rimm had found none of her own tops, though, so she had grabbed one her mother's many shirts; A long, white one with arms that came almost past her fingertips. She had to pull up the sleeves to her elbows for them to stay in place. Underneath, she had one of her dad's old, armless tank tops. It was red and pretty washed-out, but that was how she liked them. Also, being herself, she had found one of her precious beanies - a red one that covered her silver roots and her eyebrows. But best of all were the _socks _that currently adorned her feet; White, comfy cotton socks.

"Good _morning._"

When she heard that voice – and those _words_ – she paled and lost her breath, taken off guard so much that she thought for a moment that she was back in her prison cell.

And when she turned, her suspicions were brutally confirmed. Kurai was there, standing in the open entrance door. It was, perhaps, very silly of her to think of memories from the past in a moment like this, but she couldn't help it:

"_How come you always smirk and act so comfortably around the other 1st Class Soldiers, and never around me? You used to before. Is it because I'm not strong enough, or because I'm not a man?"_

_No sign of a reaction of any sort from Sephiroth.  
_Oh no._ Bad. She had went too far? Very bad. _Stupid, foolish Rimm._ Death awaits. Death by shame._

"_...I would be able to do so more easily if you were able to relax in my presence, and also if you were able to avoid trouble." ...Good.__ At least he wasn't angry. And he had given her an honest answer._

This was a situation she _had_ to manage on her own. This time around, Sephiroth was not there to help her. Not Reno or Rude, either. Even if her parents came back to the house while Kurai was there, they wouldn't be able to help her much. She needed to come up with something smart. Ransacking her brain, Rimm quickly tried thinking of anything that could give her an advantage. First of all, she knew this house better than that person, and she knew where she could find things she could use as weapons. Wasn't it a good thing to know your surroundings and be able to use them well? ...And even though she wasn't good at it, she _could try_ to psyche him out.

"Kurai!" she exclaimed, forcing herself with all her might to give him a gleeful leer - one that she had occasionally given Reno whenever he had gone too far with his pranks in the past. Not only had she never spoken Kurai's name to him, not directly, but she had never appeared this confident before him.

"Hnn?" he replied, amused. What was he doing in Gongaga, in the first place?

Rimm placed her glass of lukewarm juice on the desk demonstratively and opened the second drawer, eying a bunch of rubber bands. Because Kurai was not too close, the least she could do right now was to use long-distance attacks. Even if they were lousy. Hurriedly, she picked up all the rubber bands and let them hang around her thumb, then picked one of them and aimed it at Kurai - who couldn't hold back an entertained, sloped grin and a lone chuckle. But he said nothing. Instead, Rimm spoke again;

"I'm not an alcoholic, fan-aholic or woman-aholic. In other words, I'm out of your league," she said. Frankly, she had no idea if he really was a alcoholic or if he wanted as many fans as possible, but she knew he was crazy about women.

"Want to put that theory to test?" he asked, his hands in his pockets while he let one of his shoulders rest against the door frame.

He didn't have to ask her to do anything. She pulled back the single rubber band and let it fly at him, then immediately picked up another of the rubber bands(which were still hanging around her thumb, ready for her to utilize), and shot again. The first hit Kurai square in the chest, but he barely reacted at all. The other fell to the floor, and the bands following it hit the rest of him without effect. He flinched once when she hit his hand – but only in surprise, and not in pain. Rimm wasn't a fool; She knew perfectly well that by doing what she did, she was only buying time. But she was also distracting him.

And when he got bored and lunged in her direction, she jumped back and reached out for her mother's rolling pin behind her. Before Kurai could stop, she hurled the kitchen utensil in his direction with all the force she could manage.

The thing hit his forehead and sent him spinning.

Revolted by the horrible sound it made upon impact(it sounded like something hitting a cement wall), Rimm cringed – but that didn't change that she was thrilled that she had managed to land a hit. Kurai reached out for something to hold onto, but landed heavily on his knees and fell sideways. Blinking in pain, he got to his knees again, and Rimm's head started spinning with ideas. Should she take her father's rifle? Would that be too violent, and would she hurt him too much? Was it even a rifle? ...Well, it _was_ a weapon, and she _could_ end up regretting it if she chose not to get it, so she hurried to the box she knew her father kept it in. After opening the old and dusty lid, Rimm grabbed the long, black and brown gun and darted towards the still open door. Still wearing only socks, she exited the house, certain her feet would get soaked in only seconds.

Kurai quickly regained control of himself. After holding his slicked-back white hair for some short seconds, he chased after her outside, into the pouring rain.

And the second he stepped outside, a scythe blade was embedded in the path – right in front of him – then immediately pulled up and thrust in his direction again, forcing him to jump aside. The wielder of the scythe was not Rimm. While Rimm was busy holding the old gun close, an _old woman _started chasing the disturbed Kurai around. The old woman was remarkably fast, swiftly swinging and lunging closer to the white-haired man, who refused to believe what was happening. Rimm stared at him with clear amusement, wanting to keep this scene as a vivid memory in her mind forever. This was something she had longed to see. And Kurai's forehead was starting to get red from the rolling pin earlier, so she had managed to afflict some damage on her own. Despite the rain and the state of her socks, she couldn't hold back a grin.

"You..!" Kurai growled, trying to run around the old woman to get closer to Rimm.

"No, you don't!" said the old woman, swinging her scythe as she stepped in between them, and their chase came to a sudden stop. Both were panting, but not overly so, and Rimm stepped back a little until she stood in the doorway of her parent's hut, to shield herself from the rain. Kurai was already soaked. Regrettably, that was most likely the case with her elderly savior as well.

"I knew you would come back here, so I waited," Kurai said, addressing Rimm. She said nothing, and the old woman raised the large scythe as a warning. Kurai paid her no heed.  
"...It will only be a matter of time before I return, you know. Hojo told me everything I needed to know." His voice was calm - and his face as well - but his tense stance revealed that he was ready to attack or retreat at once if the need arose.

"Shoot him in the foot," said the old lady.  
"Huh?" Rimm asked in a breath, surprised, and glanced down to the gun she clutched to her chest.

"...Peh. Too late." And when Rimm looked up to see what the old lady meant, Kurai was gone.

* * *

After the old lady had checked the area very briefly, she and Rimm went back into her parent's hut, Rimm warily and the old woman constantly glancing at her. The gun was put back in its box and the rolling pin was returned to its original spot, whereas the rubber bands were left where they were. It was getting late, too, which only made it creepier around the old lady – she still held her scythe firmly. Looking closer, Rimm could see that it was rusty. Not that it mattered. As for the old lady, she wore a dark, patterned headscarf, a dirty apron and a dress that looked like it belonged to a hard worker; It was torn and dirty in places - but still it was so long that it touched the ground when the woman stood. Despite her appearance, she smelled like an average old lady – not grimy like an old basement, but like cheap soap and redolent perfume. And a little bit of grass and mud - but only because of the scythe.

"Um, who are you?" Rimm tried, standing around uncomfortably, making sure her red beanie hid her eyebrows well.

"That man has visited this place before - some months ago. With some other men." Her dark, small voice was hard to hear, but Rimm understood.

"Why..?" she asked, trying to find the reason in her mind. Some months ago? ...It could be around the time she escaped and managed to call her parents. She had been caught again, but perhaps Kurai had also managed to track the call back to Gongaga. Had he paid her parents a visit?

"I wouldn't know. What I would like to know is what you're doing here."

"...Visiting my parents. My friends brought me here," Rimm replied hesitantly, suddenly wanting to see them all to make sure everything was all right. The old woman seemed to ominous, with her deep wrinkles and loose, gray skin - and tiny, sunken eyes.

"Friends, you say." The woman spoke in such a monotone voice. It was as if she really wouldn't tolerate it if Rimm tried to sneak away from her questions. Even though she hadn't tried to yet.  
"That's right."

"...Who might your friends be?"  
"You don't know them. They're Reno, Rude... and Zack. And some others." One of them being Sephiroth.

"Zack?" the old woman asked, cocking her head so that her wide(yet still small), brown pea eyes could search Rimm.  
"Yeah," Rimm said uneasily.

"Would that be a man you love?" At that question, Rimm lost her breath and glared at the woman in utter disbelief. What was this? An interrogation? An old lady willing to do anything to get her hands on some juicy rumors? What to say – should she be honest or lie?

"No." Zack was like a brother to her. As for the only person Rimm could even _consider_ admitting being in love with... Well, he wasn't around. But it _was_ true she had been thinking of Sephiroth a lot in the prison, and it was true she cared about him a whole lot. More than just a friend.

"Then... Does your heart pound faster when you think of him?" the woman asked, still asking about Zack, but Rimm's thoughts wandered to Sephiroth nonetheless.

...No. When she thought of him now, her heart didn't pound fast at all. Instead, her chest felt like lead. Heavy, dark, stinging lead. She was sad for him, even though she knew he would hate being pitied. The sadness she felt was also caused by the fact that even if she _tried_ to talk to or with him, she knew there was a chance he wouldn't listen to her at all. In a way, she was hurting herself by thinking of him. It was different before; Whenever she met him, her heart would pound so fast she was often tempted to hit her heart half to death to make it slow down – so Sephiroth's trained ears wouldn't hear it. But not now.

"No. Not anymore."

The old woman rose to her feet from the old chair she had been occupying, then inched closer to the door slowly, her wet dress touching the slightly dirty floor as she did. Halfway there, however, she stopped. Turning fully and straightening her back as much as she could(which wasn't much), she said something so quietly Rimm had to strain her ears to catch the words:

"Well, that might be for the best."

"...Meaning?"

At that, the woman gave a sad chuckle and dipped her head down. Then she shook it briefly – her mouth still pulled into a sad smile – and turned to the door again. She opened it and left, leaving Rimm to think about (or actually be _confused_ about) her words. Was it good that she wasn't in love? With, Zack, that is? Come to think of it, he had a girlfriend already. That didn't matter much to Rimm - she viewed him as a good friend - most of all, she was happy for him if h e had gone all the way. For all she knew, he and Aerith - was that her name? - were married and had children. But she hadn't heard a word about him at all for a long time. Instead of hearing of 1st Class Soldiers, Kurai had occasionally mentioned the Avalanche group and Sephiroth, even Hojo, but not Zack. Had he returned to Gongaga, retired from his position after the fall of Shinra? Or..?

Shaking off her rambling thoughts, Rimm searched through her parents' outerwear by the door and found a big, black umbrella. It was time to go find her parents.

* * *

Sephiroth had not failed to see that old woman with the scythe attack the weapon-less man earlier. Whatever they fought about, he did not know, for he was not close enough to see their facial features, nor hear whatever it was they disputed about. However, one fact remained unchanged as a result of the trivial battle. During the day the villagers were everywhere in Gongaga and would see him if he showed up; During the night, on the other hand, there was only _one_ person who served as a hindrance – namely the scythe woman. If she or any other saw him, words would spread and reach Midgar, and eventually Avalanche as well. Then Sephiroth's moment of surprise would be lost. And with the visitor distacting the bothersome old woman, Sephiroth was given all the time he needed.

While the old lady chased after Kurai just out of Sephiroth's view, the silver-haired man seized his opportunity to go to the place he had been planning to visit these past days.

The graveyard.

He was there to confirm two matters. One was the death of Zack Fair. Sephiroth already knew he was dead, but found himself wondering whether a memorial had been made for the young Soldier or not. And there was; Near the gate of the small graveyard, there was a dark stone with Zack's name carved into its bland surface. As Sephiroth had expected, the sight awoke no particular sadness in him, nor dark joy. It simply made him feel _numb_. A fleeing thought told him that if he had chosen not to change to the extent to which he _had_, he could have been there to save his former comrade. However, the past was not something that could be altered at whim. A second question entered him shortly thereafter; It was whether Zack's death was something Sephiroth needed to repent for as well, in addition to all the other deaths caused by him – but Jenova brushed off the mere thought of atonement before he could pursue it further.

The second 'matter' was Rimm. He pondered whether she, too, had been given a memorial of some sort. But he found none. Most likely her parents had been unable to afford such a thing. And obviously, Shinra had been of no help.

Standing there, his wings heavy with rain, Sephiroth realized he had lost Rimm in _many_ ways, just like he had lost his old self and his closest friends. Some had been lost in the worst way he could possibly imagine; By his own hands. At this point, something cut into his train of thought and offered to him the fact that _Rimm_ had experienced _no_ such losses. Had she been alive, that would have been different. She would have experienced the loss of Zack. Also, she would have had to endure seeing Sephiroth himself turn into somebody so frighteningly different that she would perceive him as forever lost. Because of his own deeds, and also because of Avalanche, she could only have _watched_ Shinra falling into ruins and all her old friends spreading in different directions without offering her a glance. Only the Turks remained now.

To add to this – if she had lived – she would also have had to suffer from the death of her parents. He could see their grave from where he stood. But Rimm had lost her life before that. She was long gone, and had never experienced the agony of finding herself left behind.

That was the only thing about her death that alleviated his own pain.

* * *

**R.R.**  
(-shifty eyes-)


	24. Loss and Gain

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. Japanese is – regrettably – not my first language. Nor is English. That's regrettable as well. Help me improve?

I still have my parents, but I seriously tried my best with this chapter, though - so to write it, I tried imagining how it must feel to lose them... (-is reduced to salty, dark pond in dusty corner-)  
That said, there'll be some improper language this time.

* * *

Loss and Gain

* * *

The rain was pouring down more than ever before, but with her umbrella, Rimm left her parent's warm, dry hut and tried to decide where her parents might be. It was already really late. Were they visiting friends, or perhaps even spending a night out together somewhere, like in a bar? Would they do that? Automatically clearing her voice for when she met them – to be ready to talk with them about everything – Rimm stopped hesitating and ran to the far end of the small village, past all the huts. She might as well check _all_ the small houses to be sure. There really weren't that many of them. Once she was as far away from her parent's hut as possible, she turned and looked back to it. Until now, she hadn't paid any attention to her closest neighbors; Zack's parents. She was afraid to hear something she wouldn't like. But she would get there in time, anyway. Whether she liked it or not.

"Okay, mum, pops," she started, a little excited as well. They had to be there. After all, she had spoken to them both on the phone some months ago, although only in a frantic rush while trying to escape Kurai and his henchmen.

With the last bit of daylight rapidly fading, she couldn't help but shiver at the fact that the graveyard was right behind her. There was something about graveyards – they always made people become quiet and somewhat respectful, and sad. Or so it seemed to her. As for Gongaga's own graveyard, its graves were probably among the ones that were best tended to of all graves she had seen. Flowers always grew there.

Rimm turned halfway, watching the tombstones, and held back a dark shiver when she saw that the number of stones had increased a lot since the last time she was there. How long had it been? She hadn't been there since _before_ Sephiroth found out about Jenova. After that, five years had passed before Sephiroth was defeated, and then a couple of years had passed before he was defeated one more time. And then, yet another year or two had passed. Sephiroth believed Rimm was dead, but all this time, she had been kept and preserved in Mako. Ironically, despite being trapped for so long, she had never found out if it was liquid Mako or just some kind of floating energy; She had been kept on the border between consciousness and unconsciousness all the time. Come to think of it, after such a long time, had she aged?

Touching her face briefly, Rimm absently watched the gray colors resting around the tombstones.

"I wonder..." she muttered absently, so low she couldn't hear what she said.  
_'What about my parents, have they aged a whole lot?'_, had been the words she wanted to ask herself, but her thoughts came to an eerily abrupt stop as she glimpsed the name carved into one of the wet gravestones. She could only see the initials:

_'Z... F...'_

It only took her some seconds to close the distance between herself and said stone. When she saw the name that was carved into it, she must have fallen to her knees, because all of a sudden, the stone seemed to loom above her. It looked to her as if it was darkening, threatening to pull her in the more she watched the name. Rimm had seen the power of words before, on countless occasions – she had assumed that certain people had even _mastered_ the use of this power – but she had never experienced that words could afflict such raw pain. Her chest shrunk, and she felt she had to increase her pace of breathing, or else she wouldn't get enough air. Zack Fair – she had feared that perhaps he was dead, but simply _suspecting_ he was dead would never have prepared her for seeing his name carved into a dark gray, lifeless, soaked stone that would continue being just that; A dark gray, _lifeless_, soaked stone.

"Zack?" her voice broke, and clenching the large, black umbrella, she reached out to touch the stone as if to see if it was real. Her legs were soaked from her knees down to her now boot-clothed feet. If she thought more of it, she might have found this fact distracting, and thus even comforting, but instead she chose to avert her clouding eyes from Zack's memorial stone and looked past it to alleviate the horrible aching.

But even if seeing the gravestone – which belonged to the man who she had always perceived as her brother – caused her _this_ much _pain_, it was hardly much compared to the agony filling her when she saw the cross behind Zack's grave. Made of dead, pale wood, the cross mercilessly revealed two carved names, a sight that forced an ugly taste of bile to climb her throat.

"M-" she managed, trembling as she dropped the umbrella in favor of supporting herself with both hands as her insides curled together, pressing her chest with enough force to render her unable to breathe. Paralyzed, at complete loss of what to think, she was unable to even consider _how_ they had both died at the same time. Sharing a cross meant they had been buried at the same time. Only months ago, they had been _old_, and even more so than before, but they had been more alive and spirited than ever if she judged from how their comforting voices had hurriedly soothed her via the phone. Kurai had pulled her back to the little prison after that. But at that time, her parents were alive.

Now they were dead.

"Dad?" she mouthed. Their names were dark on the light surface of the dead wood, and the cross stood stubbornly upright and was taller than the other gravestones and memorial stones.

The rain had only almost stopped, but she was shaking now, unaware of the ceasing rain. She was already soaked to her skin (with the umbrella still on its back in the mud), her top visibly red underneath her white, long-sleeved shirt. Burying her hands and sleeves in the dark brown mud in front of her, Rimm clenched her fists. She couldn't hold back a shaky sob. After releasing the lone sound, she couldn't keep a second one from coming, but she did her best to hold them all back and suppressed them to the best of her ability. Trembling and shaking, she felt her arms give in as the distance between herself and the soaked soil closed.

Rolling to one side – trying to breathe, but failing miserably – Rimm clenched her teeth and shrank weakly in an attempt to silence herself. She couldn't see anything through her tears and hated it. In her chest was a wound deep, broad and dark enough to be described as an abyss, and she was cringing in torment because of it. Gritting her teeth and hiding her face with a muddy hand, mumbling 'dad', 'mum', she pulled her soaked shirt away from her chest to try easing the pressure. If hearts could be seized and brutally ripped out of a person, she was sure she knew exactly how it felt. With her chest and heart so empty after having three persons torn out if it, how come it felt so excruciatingly dense and heavy? She felt like she was being wrapped in a profound _lack_ of something she had always taken for granted. And because she already scorned and detested that feeling to the core, everything just became much worse.

And she was so angry, so confused, it was killing her inside.

She willed the pain to go away, but it crashed and rampaged, driving her mad the more she realized none of them would _ever_ return. Making no attempt to stop her arms and hands from shaking, she frantically inhaled a ragged breath. Then she wrapped herself in her arms, hugging herself so tightly she couldn't feel her limbs, trying to erase some of her torment with physical pain. She raggedly inhaled once more, this time releasing a shrill cry of pain and fear - wanting it all to go away. And even though her anguished voice seemed loud and clear to her, she couldn't help but feeling it was being swallowed up by the gap in her chest, so that nobody could hear her.

* * *

The rain had stopped completely, leaving behind a stifling silence that only irked the white-haired man even more than the rain itself had done moments before. It was in the middle of the night, but since it was late summer in Gongaga, it still wasn't jet black. Heavy clouds still made everything look darker than usual, though – without them, stars would have lit the area even more. Despite the quietness, Kurai didn't mind the dark night at all. It made things easier. He could plan things easier like this. To move about in the shadows was beneficial. No one would see him.

Then again, _he_ didn't have to do a thing. His men could finish it all for him.  
Like last time.

They could go get Rimm, then they could all return to Midgar and keep Rimm there until Sephiroth returned. Then they would 'arrange a meeting', as Hojo had demanded before leaving and never coming back. Kurai didn't mind capturing Rimm and taunting her, but a reunion between the two persons hosting extraterrestrial beings was just odd to him. Why couldn't he just let Rimm walk about on her own? Because she would never ever find Sephiroth alone?

"Tsch, what the heck... We do _all_ the dirty work." The muttered words were empty and held no threat; Kurai was _not_ planning to disobey orders. More than anything, he would simply love to see how this 'reunion' would turn out. He still remembered how Sephiroth had given him trouble way back when he (Kurai) chased down Rimm. Hojo had come for him after that episode, even, but in the end it had all turned out for the best. Now - if he was lucky - Kurai would be able to witness Sephiroth go crazy just like he himself had done. The ex-General was even more of a beast than himself, was he not? ...Eventually, the man would surely go to greater lengths with Rimm than Kurai had. The silver-haired man was sure to do to Rimm what he had despised seeing Kurai do. Or so Kurai believed. Because the ex-General didn't harbor any feelings for her. Giving a lethargic, yet very wide smirk, he glanced at the guards surrounding him.

The men had been in Gongaga before, acting under the order _'make sure Rimm's parents do not tell anybody about what has been done - and is still being done - to Rimm, or else we will eventually have Avalanche on our backs.'_

He had never thought the guards would take the order so seriously they would actually kill off Rimm's parents. Luckily no one had _seen_ them do it. Either way, Kurai had been waiting for some days in the hut now belonging to Rimm. He had lit the fireplace and gotten his hands on some food, while all the guards waited a fair distance away from the small village – so as not to raise suspicion.

If Rimm thought Kurai had _escaped_ – never to return – she was mistaken.

* * *

Sephiroth had just left Gongaga when he saw the man from earlier – the man that had fought the old woman and escaped. It was with slight surprise that Sephiroth finally _recognized_ the man as _Kurai._ Upon realizing this he felt his large wings stir, a sharp motion that shook off much of the water they had gathered during the long hours of rain. The reason he had not understood before was something he quickly blamed on the man's hair; It was slicked back, and the rain had made it look darker than white. Now that it was no longer raining, however, it occurred to Sephiroth that it was actually quite strange of him not to have realized before now. It angered him.

The first question forming in his mind asked what that person was doing in Gongaga. Had he not fought the elderly woman? Whatever the reason was, Sephiroth had also caught a brief glimpse of a third person in the door of a hut – the hut that had belonged to Rimm's parents.

That brought to mind a second question: He had seen the lone grave of Rimm's parents, both of them. Their names were carved into a wooden cross that couldn't possibly be that old. It was easy enough to replace the cross every now and then, surely, but the plants around their grave were no doubt _younger_ than those around other tombstones. The grave was _not_ old. Somehow, her parents appeared to have died about the same time. Sephiroth couldn't help but find such a thing awfully suspicious – if Kurai had anything at all to do with it, he wouldn't be surprised.

Then, why was Kurai in Gongaga? Searching for traces or remains of Rimm, who had, after all, been an experiment? There was a slim chance the man would venture as far as to dig up graves to find whatever it was he needed to find. Perhaps he was searching for DNA samples. And while he was there, he used the Rimm's hut, knowing nobody lived there. If he knew no one lived there, that meant he had been there on a previous occasion and found out her parents were gone, did it not?

"That man..." he said in a silent whisper, exiting the dense forest surrounding Gongaga. He _could_ find out if Rimm's parents had, indeed, died at the same time, but there was also an even simpler solution to this matter.

Slowly, Sephiroth wandered towards the group of men while deep in thought, his strides resembling gliding more than anything. If Kurai was at fault for the coinciding deaths of Rimm's parents, the least he could do was to extract revenge for their sake.

"...Hm? ...Hey, you!" a man exclaimed, assuming his position, making the others copy him almost instantly. There were not mere Shinra guards – he could see it. Their stances were defensive, and very much so, not giving him any obvious openings. More than anything, however, he found they could be described as more or less professional hitmen rather than guards. All of them carried heavy rifles, but only half of them were ready to use them. The other half sported swords undoubtedly ripped off dead 1st Class Soldiers. Or – for all Sephiroth knew – these had actually _been_ 1st Class Soldiers.

"You... Who would have thought..." Kurai muttered, wearing a sneer – which surprisingly was not arrogant, but rather maniacally pleased. He was standing behind all the men, by the only vehicle within sight; A sturdy truck with _North Corel Mines_ stamps on the windows. That meant they had all come via North Corel, most likely from Costa del Sol.

"You're dead, old General." These were the words of one of the largest men, who then proceeded to place the butt end of the large assault rifle to his shoulder and aimed, then fired.

Sephiroth pulled his Masamune from its back and deflected three bullets with it without stepping closer or withdrawing.

"...We should keep him alive," Kurai said to his subordinates, as if to say Sephiroth were a specimen.  
To this, the one who had just fired cussed vigorously and literally snarled at the white-haired man.

"What the heck, just cuz' the damned professor fuckin' told you to?" he cursed, veins bulging under the tan skin on his forehead and arms. Kurai remained unaffected by the words. The muscular man continued:  
"Shit! In case you didn't bloody notice, he's already holdin' his sword! If we kill 'im, what' you reckon we'll get?" Greed was obvious in the man no matter how one chose to look at him. He spoke as if he had already won the battle.

"My life is only mine. It is not yours to take," Sephiroth said, his voice low. Immediately afterwards pain – although not physical – took hold of him for a brief moment as he realized who he had heard speak those words just as confidently. Everything he did seemed to remind him of that person. Even now, when he looked at Kurai, he could recall her vividly, see her under him, unwillingly cradled by him. If Sephiroth tried erasing the images of Kurai and attempted only remembering _her,_ all he saw was her lifeless, soaked form – the way her eyes slowly stopped reflecting the light after she stopped breathing. It was something that would always remain with him with grave clarity.

"What, so you people want to kill him just like you did Rimm's parents? That was not really necessary, you know, even if they knew all the things Shinra did to her."

...In the past, Shinra had done things that were truly unforgivable. But of Kurai to speak so lightly of it, as if _deliberately_ revealing that they had gone to such lengths to cover up everything, vexed him. To add unimportant matters to the already tense situation, Kurai still clung to his habit of speaking formally. That way of speaking, though having nothing at all to do with anything, seemed to Sephiroth like an attempt at making everything he had done become more acceptable.

That was, perhaps - if not the main _reason_ - the _trigger_ of what Sephiroth did next.

Without hesitating, he lunged forward so fast it left his Masamune ringing when he thrust it down. He did not aim for Kurai. Instead, while making sure to stare at Kurai and dare him to look away, Sephiroth cut apart each of the men's swords and rifles and thus let them without weapons. Only after their weapons clattered as they hit the ground did he break eye contact. Making sure the tallest of them (the one who had insulted him) watched, Sephiroth proceeded and sliced off his arms; One at the wrist, the other at the elbow. Making no attempt to keep his cuts clean, he continued to the others – who by then were either shouting or crying curses while trying to head for their truck – and rid them all of one hand each before they could find a way to defend themselves. All of them, except Kurai.

This act might have struck any onlooker as odd, especially taking into consideration the fact that Sephiroth was a _killer_ and not one to have mercy. However, for Sephiroth, saving their lives was just the opposite; By not killing them, and instead only _injuring _(and leaving them with only one hand each), he inflicted pain that would _last._ None of them would go straight to the Lifestream and find peace, nor would any of them die unpeaceful deaths which would lmake them transform into fiends. Some of the men would have to live the rest of their lives _knowing_ they would never again become as skilled or useful as they had once been – not without going through an impressive amount of hard work over a very extended period of time. They would have to learn to live with it. And, for _now_, they would have to endure the pain.

"See if Shinra's Restore materias can cure that," Sephiroth mocked darkly, assuming said materias were in the truck. No one were in the vehicle, instead, they were either uttering raw shrieks of pain, searching for their missing hands or struggled to hold back any exclamations they might have considered releasing – watching him with bloodshot eyes that radiated with humiliation and rage. Their limbs were scattered in the damp mud at their feet, leaving dark red pools of blood. Curses and swearwords rang through the silence, cutting through even the shrill screams of pain as they clasped their hand-less arms with their only remaining hand.

Sephiroth proceeded by mouthing a _Fire Three_ spell, his mutters resulting in a massive burst of flames and several consecutive explosions from the car, which was literally blown several meters into the air before crashing down again.

Then Sephiroth left the ground, floating in the air above them. Kurai was still unharmed – but only because Sephiroth had yet to decide how to punish him. Killing him or physically injuring would not suffice. Most of all, Sephiroth wanted to break him from the inside. For now, he would leave the ex-Turk trainee with his pained subordinates. As their leader, what would the man do to alleviate their pain if he had no materias and no fist aid equipment? It was no particularly hidden secret that Sephiroth himself had had similar situations to deal with in the past. Only back then – most notably and frequently during the Wutai War – the wounds that his men had to endure were more serious by far.

Sephiroth would leave Kurai to do whatever it was he wanted to do, to gauge his character and see whether or not the man had any honor at all.

Meanwhile, he found himself drawn back to the forest surrounding Gongaga. The sun would be up soon. Before then, Sephiroth wished to pay his respects to Rimm's parents. Then he would leave for Midgar without paying any further heed to the agonized men below.

* * *

No matter how she tried _not_ to, she couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from turning down – the bitterness wouldn't disappear. A little earlier, she had returned to her parents' hut to let herself dry. If there was ever a time she needed to be strong in the past, it was nothing at all compared to now. There was only one person on the entire Planet keeping her alive currently, and that was Reno. If it hadn't been for him, and Rude, she might already have broken completely and thus have decided to join Sephiroth, Zack and her parents in the afterlife. That was how she felt. In a useless attempt to get control of her sadness and freely flowing tears, she had forced herself to go back to the hut. Once there, she had tried – in vain – to forget about everything by finding a scissor and cutting her fringes until they once again came down right past her cheekbones.

That only took a few minutes, however, and since she had no such thing as dark hair dye, she could do nothing to hide her silver roots. Only her red, knitted cotton beanie – which by the way was still damp – hid her secret from going official in Gongaga. If that wasn't enough, her eyes now carried a strange glow. Rimm didn't know if it was because she had been crying or if it was caused by something else, but either way – instead of glowing turquoise – her eyes had a purple hue more than anything else.

Her breath was strained, but not uneven, and she admitted that she had never felt _weaker_, and wondered if that was the case for her Jenova cells as well. Did the cells become weaker when she did, or did they strengthen when her own strength faded?

Either way, she kept thinking thoughts like that to keep her mind off the deaths of her parents and Zack.

Pulling her beanie down more than strictly necessary, she exited the hut and walked back to the graves with a small boquet of newly picked flowers in hand, still unable to keep the corners of her mouth from bending down as she did. Feeling her throat constrict as sobs threatened to commence again, she clenched her teeth and fists as much she could (which wasn't impressively much at the moment) and kept walking. While she did, her back and shoulders hunched more and more in a final attempt to brace her for the sight she knew would meet her when she returned to the graveyard. To add to it all, it had stopped raining and the sun would be up soon. The carved names would be unmercifully clear.

Of these reasons, it might strike anyone as quite understandable that she didn't believe her own eyes when she looked up. What she saw was perfectly unbelievable to the point of cruelty (caused her by her own fantasy, she thought); She saw the back of a tall, leather-clad man with silver hair and large, light gray wings adorning his shoulders standing by the small gate of Gongaga's graveyard. He was very still, the long, silver sword on his back tainted with a fresh red color while he himself moved his head in different directions – he looked around, as if in search of something - a valuable, something he had lost that he wished to retrieve.

* * *

It was such an odd thing to do right after cold-bloodedly committing a crime. He was standing there, completely silent and deep in thought. To describe it with precisely, he felt as if it was raining, yet he was still waiting for the rain to start pouring. To wait for rain while it was raining was perhaps foolish, but that was the feeling that so annoyingly and stubbornly occupied him the most at the moment. He could understand that Rimm was dead and that her parents had not been able to afford a gravestone. Yet, the fact that Rimm did not even have as much as a hand-crafted wooden cross meant that her parents had never been informed of her death. Or perhaps that they had refused to accept the truth even if they had been told that she was dead. Even so, despite this and despite the fact that he had already had a look earlier, he still searched for remains of gravestones that might have belonged to Rimm.

But he was feeling weary. Frowning, he tried blinking it away, but it would not leave him – this stubborn tiredness that kept shrouding his mind.  
_Insomnia._ That was among the only things he had to remind himself of her.  
And it was at such a time of useless reminiscing that something, or somebody, decided to stir behind him.

...And _hers_ was the voice that broke the silence.  
"Sephiroth?"

The nearly inaudible, breaking, yet unmistakably unbelieving words carried past his ears and traveled to somewhere deep within him that immediately froze into brittle glass. He found that _if_ he turned and it was not _her,_ he would be at complete loss as of what to do. It would break him.

"...Sephi-?"

And he turned his head a little, then turned around fully, feeling himself tense in expectation of the impossible. The person stood a fair distance away from him, and she was different from how he had expected, in more than one way.

But _hers_ were the eyes that looked into his.

Both of them stared without blinking, each fearing for the other to vanish if they shut their eyes. Even so, he somehow knew she would not disappear this time. Her clothes were damp and muddy, she wore a beanie that for once failed to make her look tougher, and she was trembling – a physical image so vivid it simply couldn't be something he had made up himself. What he saw could not be an illusion. She frightened him so – he was shocked, and was frowning in utter disbelief seeing her so alive. In comparison, her face expressed pure fear. She looked as if somebody had just shattered her into pieces. It pained him, for he did not know which would be better; To stay away or to approach. Would it frighten her if he came closer, or would he hurt her feelings even more by withdrawing..?

And with a groan of utter defeat and anguish that sounded so physical he blanched, Rimm swayed and was about to fall, and she let go of the colorless flowers she had clenched in her hand moments before.

...A part of him knew she purposefully did so – she wanted to fall to her knees because she was at loss of what else to do. And even so, even if it wouldn't cause her an awful lot of pain at all when she fell, he couldn't take it. It angered him to see her so broken, because _he_ was obviously one of the reasons she seemed to be falling apart.

Thus, before she let her knees give in beneath herself and before he could come up with a foolish reason _not_ to do what he wanted to do, he lunged forth and closed the distance between them. Without hesitating, he let his arms lock around her and felt from the impact that she was real – she was not something he imagined – and instead of keeping her from falling, he let both of them fall to their knees. And she was shaking, crying and suppressing sobs, and he was feeling guiltier by the second, but he didn't let go, because she _held onto him. _He pulled her closer, and she started mumbling things between muffled sobs, things he had no answers to, such as "Where were you?", "Why did you come now?" and "Why are you even here?". He was hunched over her, refusing to let go for even a second.

"Please don't ask me why I'm here," sounded his silent reply. Something else brought him than a simple need to remember. If it was truly Rimm who was in his arms, then why did he ache so? Why was he frowning as if in pain? And despite the aching feeling, he had discovered that she was _alive_ and of this reason his thoughts were racing harder and further away than they had ever done or been before.

He was beside himself.

"I'm _so sorry_..." she managed, soon continuing her muttered words, making it hard for him to hear. "You thought I were dead..." To that, Sephiroth said nothing.

Although she was still trembling, she she was calming down. Sephiroth pulled his wings closer, noticing for the first time that they were lighter than he had first believed they were. Now functioning as somewhat of a wall on either side of himself and Rimm, they were light gray, having dried from the rain. In the shadows cast by them, Rimm looked up for the first time, still clutching him. Only now, he could hear her properly.

"You-You're a good person, you know? ...It's just that you're a good person who's had many horrible things happen to you!" she said, unable to decide whether to be sad, in pain, or angry. But her voice – if not calm – was getting stronger. Her words left him breathless for a second. Did she not realize who she was talking to? He was a killer not deserving such words. Yet, despite this familiar and restricting train of thought, his arms tightened around her when she was done speaking. By now both of them had one knee between the knees of the other, embracing each other while being caught up in a temporary mix of shock, confusion and something that was undoubtedly bliss.

They fell still, Rimm releasing a shaky sigh as she let her face dig deep into his shoulder. He found himself wanting to know if she was smiling or not, but failed even when he tried turning his head to have a closer look.

At one point, the sun must have fought its way through the layer of dark clouds and peeked over the dense treetops, because when Sephiroth looked past his wings, the entire village was bathed in a golden morning light. Consequently, sounds alerted him to the fact that people were waking up inside each of the small huts. Ovens were readied - smoke erupting from the small chimneys - and the smell of food began to linger. It was only a matter of time before people would come outside. Speaking of which, there was no sign of the old woman from earlier.

Inclining his head until he was close to her neck, he inhaled her smell slowly, as if to keep some of her with him for a little longer, then he slowly rose, still holding her. After standing up fully, still holding her(her feet didn't even touch the ground, and instead, she was reaching for hit feet with her own), he put her down slowly.

She seemed disoriented, and for a moment none of them withdrew from their embrace. But then a shadow touched her eyes briefly and she glanced past him. A furrow of worry, or more likely sadness, appeared on her face. Then she shook her head and pulled back a little. Sephiroth willingly freed her.

Next, she appeared to be unable to choose her words.

She didn't need to. Seeing her this close Sephiroth easily found a subject; Her eyes were glowing, and he could only guess of what reason, but her eyelashes...  
He moved a hand to her hand and pulled off her beanie, then stared at her hair in disbelief. His surprise must have made her uneasy, because she stepped back and held her arms up defensively.

* * *

**R.R.**

Here I am, finally, and now only one chapter remains. **:)**


	25. To Fear, Understand and Heal

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

Thank you for your patience – this is the final chapter..! (-smiles nervously-) I had so many things to write I didn't know where to begin... The chapter was being mean to me.

* * *

To Fear, Understand and Heal

* * *

"I think, I... uh, have some Jenova cells." Her voice was strained and ashamed, and she did not seem like her usual self. But it couldn't be helped - she did not exactly look like she was able to muster a facade at the moment. He could tell why from her flowers. She had been on her way to the graveyard.

...Was this what Hojo had been doing to her from the beginning? He had given her Jenova's cells, then waited for a while before giving her Mako – which made Jenova's cells able to interact and interfere with one's body? Then, if that was really the case, how come Sephiroth had been absolutely unable to sense her before now? Normally, even when he was far away from people – in the Lifestream – he was able to sense every being that walked upon the Planet holding Jenova cells. While presumed dead, he had carefully chosen which of these hosts he would use when he returned. In other words, it was not likely that she had Jenova cells at all. If she _did,_ they were not functioning properly.

* * *

"Reach out your hand," he said, looking rather cold, which made her hesitate. But she reached out anyway, thinking come what may come. Heck, if he really couldn't stand it if she had Jenova cells and left her in a heap of miserableness and tears, she would just hurry and call Reno as fast as possible to make him force herself to stay alive. After all, if Sephiroth left, the redhead and Rude were the only ones she had left.

Then, with his right hand, he removed his left glove and reached out as well.

The mood was oddly strained and serious, all of a sudden – it was as if they were doing something extremely dangerous, only she didn't know what. They were only inches apart, and she held her hand still while his extended towards her. Before he touched her, something tingled within her and she made a face, but didn't move away. Sephiroth maintained his straight face and seemed absorbed watching their hands – as if not wanting to miss anything that might happen.

As they touched, what felt like a powerful spark coursed through her and she hastily withdrew, only to have her hand seized by her wrist and pulled closer. The surge continued to flow from him to her in inconsistent waves, making her twitch as she waited for her knees to buckle. It felt like a stream of electricity - convulsing through her, it felt like it was moving her guts around and rearranging everything until it was all as distorted as Reno's office.

"Stop..." she managed, feeling as if her arm was curling the more of the energy ran through her. Even through the continuous pain, she could feel something like a division between two different energies. As if something was colliding. There was her hand and his – these were only mediums, it seemed – something that functioned as a connection between Sephiroth and and herself. And within herself, she felt a growing, concentrated force that wasn't her own – one that she couldn't control, so to speak – which moved on its own accord. It fought whatever coursed from Sephiroth's hand until her arm went numb.

Then he let go, and she stepped back while gripping her wrist, walking until she hit the fence framing the graveyard.

"That is not Jenova."

It was a simple statement, spoken without particular emotions while putting his glove back on. The red beanie that had been on her head minutes ago was on the ground. Sephiroth was neither pleased nor angered, but Rimm had definitely felt better. Tiny sparks still stung her, and even though her hand looked all right, it felt like it was swelling into a very bad case of malformed buns with too much yeast in them. When she moved her fingers, they trembled fiercely.

"...Then what_ was-_"

"Stand still."

The voice, which was confusingly rougher than Sephiroth's, bewildered her for a moment. In front of her, Sephiroth's mouth turned down in a snarl as he looked past her, his eyes fixed on the source of the male voice.

"Kurai..." sounded the Sephiroth's voice, instantly making Rimm frown deeply as she felt her heart drop and her anger warm her inside.

* * *

Sephiroth could see and hear that the man was somehow different from how he had been earlier. Though not exactly insane, his leer conveyed obvious stress and unease. To tell the truth, his current look fit him much better than his old facade. With slicked back white hair and eyes wider than usual, Kurai approached Rimm (who stood still, as Kurai had ordered) from behind while keeping his gun aimed at her. Whatever he decided to do, Sephiroth would not be able to get to Rimm – or Kurai, for that matter – fast enough if Kurai shot. The best thing to do at the moment was undoubtedly to stand still and hear the man out.

"If you use magic, I will make sure to shoot her before the spell gets to me," Kurai spoke.

Really, Sephiroth was _not_ that incompetent. What was more, there was strictly no need for Kurai to go this far – charging in and meddling like this only confirmed that he was losing it. Frankly speaking it seemed to Sephiroth that it would only be a matter of time before Kurai buckled under the pressure.

"Whatever happened to your men?" Sephiroth queried, and a look of confusion crossed Rimm's eyes as Kurai gave a hollow chuckle.

"You blew up the car, and I thought the Restore materias were all ruined. But one of my subordinates had apparently _borrowed_ some of them before all of that happened."  
"...So you left them." At that, Kurai gave a single nod, whereas his lopsided grin widened.

"Indeed I did. In their state, they would have gone out of their way to kill me off – for simply being left unharmed by you."

Kurai's grin faltered a little and he blinked as if contemplating something.

"You know, when I think about it... I should have just stayed away from here. With you two meeting like this, my mission is finished." Kurai stopped and shook his head as if trying to get rid of something. Still, other than a darkening bruise on his forehead, there was nothing unusual. For a moment he was quiet, gaining the attention of the other two, despite the fact that Rimm could not actually see him.

"...I did as that Hojo told me to. And I do not regret it the slightest." Kurai glanced around, his eyes stopping briefly at some of the huts, and he gritted his teeth and pushed Rimm forward.

"Go," he ordered, pushing her with his free hand. Sephiroth watched the overly confident man, entertaining the thought of getting rid of him, but judging from his words he knew something that Sephiroth did not. The fact that he held Rimm 'hostage' meant nothing – if Sephiroth wished, he could kill the man either way, without even touching _her._ Then there was the question of morale – would he murder the man while Rimm watched, and if such a case occurred, what would she think of him? ...Did it at all matter? It was only a matter of time before he would make Kurai release her. But the man had some ulterior motives, surely.

Sephiroth watched them walk away and slowly followed, calm, but far from content.

Speaking of which, Kurai had spoken of a mission he had completed: _"...with you two meeting like this..."_ His mission had been to make sure Rimm and himself, Sephiroth, would meet for some reason. If he took into consideration his venture earlier – when he determined that Rimm was not hosting any of Jenova's cells – matters were becoming complicated. He had Jenova's cells – obviously. That was because Jenova was his mother. Rimm's mother was _not_ Jenova, and she did _not_ have any of the presumed-to-be dead cells of Jenova. But still she had grown silver locks. Surely, _her_ mother – or father – was not an Ancient, like Jenova. What had Hojo done? Given her cells from _another_ Ancient? In that case, _that_ was why Hojo wanted the two of them to meet; To ensure the future of the Ancients, no matter how strong the measures.

"Here," sounded Kurai's strained voice, and Sephiroth realized they were in the middle between Gongaga and the plains surrounding it. In other words, they were in a small forest, shielded from view by trees and foliage on all sides.

"Why here?" asked Rimm, her voice not lacking a vexed tinge. Kurai was gripping the neck of her white shirt with his free hand, and the other held the gun in her back. Sephiroth watched from a distance, oddly calm – a fact that made Kurai all the more uneasy.

"...I could have just left you both. My mission is over, after all," he muttered, repeating himself while staring down Sephiroth and ignoring Rimm's question. If he only paid attention to Sephiroth, it could definitely not hurt for the winged man to inquire about a few matters. The white-haired man was more likely to answer _him_ than Rimm, apparently.

"Tell me about your mission."

"Heh," responded Kurai. He was keeping Rimm as a shield of some sort, and lowered behind her until his head was level with hers, behind her shoulder.  
"Hojo had me agree to keep Rimm until your return. Then I was to arrange a meeting between you." His voice was flat as he eyed the silver-haired Sephiroth, who said nothing and waited for the other to continue.

"And because no one was supposed to know other than those directly involved, I sent the guards to silence your parents, Rimm," he murmured, turning to Rimm for a moment.

When he spoke those words, Rimm blanched, and for a moment she seemed to be torn between despair and fury – a clash of feelings that ultimately led to the victory of what would satisfy her the most in the current situation: Fury. She frowned and kicked up behind her, and Sephiroth tensed, ready to lunge forth as well. In his mind was the gun Kurai still carried. Kurai growled upon impact – Rimm's aimless kick hit a truly disadvantageous place, he dared venture – and Sephiroth stopped in his tracks for a moment. The weapon was still aimed at her, but Rimm proceeded by turning around to face him and gave him an solid fist in the jaw, which sadly only distracted him for a second before he gained control again, without falling.

And before Rimm was grabbed hold of by a man who had made advances on her in the past, Sephiroth intruded by seizing the hem of Kurai's jacket. Rimm stopped and stared at Kurai, her eyes betraying hurt, then glanced at Sephiroth. She seemed unable to decide what to think of it all.

"Am I to take it that both of us have the cells of Jenova?" Sephiroth asked mockingly, shoving away the man and stepping between him and Rimm. In his left hand, Masamune was ready – still covered with blood from his encounter with Kurai's subordinates.

Grabbing the gun, Kurai stood up. He laughed quietly – a hollow sound. For a moment he looked completely like his past self, with half-shut eyelids and a faint smirk, his stance confident.

"No. You have Jenova's cells, and Rimm has been given Nova's cells."

Sephiroth frowned, Masamune twitching in his grip. _Nova?_ As in Jenova? If such were the case, there was a possibility that this Nova of which he spoke was also an Ancient. Not allowing himself to display surprise or question, he kept his face and his voice level.  
"...I take it that Nova is an Ancient as well," Sephiroth said, wanting his suspicions to be confirmed.

"**Hah**, see, that is what they all think!" Kurai exclaimed, grinning and frowning. Rimm, at Sephiroth's side, remained quiet - all ears.

"You see, Hojo told me that both Nova and Jenova are something far more interesting. Both of them are... _'extraterrestrial beings that long ago descended upon the Planet in order to take control of it and use it as a vessel to travel the universe'_. That was what Hojo kept repeating. Then the _Ancients,_ which people bring up every so often, actually battled these two and _won._ Later, the humans got rid of the Ancients. The humans won, so to speak."

...At some point during Kurai's speech, everything in Sephiroth's mind had blackened.

He could sense no traces of this all being a lie.

* * *

She could only see his back, yet had no problems whatsoever sensing the building pressure. She wasn't sure if it was the atmosphere or Sephiroth's own energy flowing, and she wanted to speak, but wasn't sure if that would just make everything worse. By saying what he did, Kurai had claimed that Sephiroth's mother was an alien. Stepping to her left, Rimm tried getting a glimpse of Sephiroth's face to see if he was still calm. She couldn't see, though, but judging from Kurai, she doubted Sephiroth looked too pleased.

"And Hoj-"

"I never did find that despicable man in the Lifestream," sounded the calm, icy voice. From where she now stood, Rimm could barely see Sephiroth smirking, taunting Kurai. Most of all she wanted to tell him that his mother was a human – like the cloaked man in Nibelheim had claimed – but something prevented her from doing it; Masamune was stained with blood that was slowly starting to dry. Kurai's men had been injured, they had said earlier, but when, and why? Were they dead?

"...Despicable man? Him? ...In the eyes of most people, _you_ are a lot worse. Many do not even know of his existence."

Did Kurai really want to die that badly? What was he _thinking?  
_Sephiroth lifted his sword and pointed at him, but remained still.

"Sephiroth-..." squeaked Rimm, and he turned to her abruptly, his face a dark frown.  
"I-... went to Nibelheim, and there was a man... He said your mother was a human," she tried, watching him apprehensively. Only then it occurred to her that Sephiroth might not believe her words after what Kurai had said.

"Whoa. You researched it and all? Sure enough, his mother was a human," Kurai spoke, turning more arrogant by the minute.

Because of Sephiroth's reactions to his words, the white-haired man was beginning to feel powerful. Blinded by this power that was sure to lead to his defeat, he continued spilling things he had kept hidden from Rimm and Sephiroth:

"See, her name was Lucrecia Crescent, a professor. Jenova's cells were injected into her womb before you were born," Kurai continued, now oblivious to Sephiroth's anger as he gladly continued his ranting – thinking he could break the stronger man with his words.

And however briefly, Sephiroth's face lit for a moment. That was not to last.

"I encountered Hojo _long_ after that, tough, so all I could do was help out. I did look up to his patience, and I still do."  
Rimm pulled back until she was a fair distance behind Sephiroth, then shook her head vigorously to make Kurai stop. He had committed countless crimes and unacceptable things that she would never ever forget, yet she still shook her head to him. _He_ was not Hojo.

"Hojo was killed by Avalanche. Too bad. He was hoping to see you two again."

Though Sephiroth said nothing, Rimm was sure he wanted to meet the professor, too. To get revenge. High on the effects his words had caused Sephiroth so far, Kurai was in no hurry to stop:

"After all, he was you _father._"

At that, an excruciatingly long second passed. Masamune, still covered in blood that was now dry, was dropped to the ground and spun a little before stopping. Shocked by the revelation, but not nearly as much as Sephiroth must have been, Rimm could only watch as the winged man closed the distance between himself and the disturbed Kurai. With a move too fast for their eyes to see, Sephiroth shoved his hand into Kurai's chest with such force that instead of merely knocking him off his feet, Sephiroth's hand went all the way through Kurai's chest and out on the other side, tearing through fabric and bones alike. The white-haired man staggered and gasped. Sephiroth pulled his hand back halfway back and rummaged in Kurai's chest, then swiftly retracted his entire arm from Kurai's chest, which produced a horrible squelching sound. For a second blood coursed through the air in flying rivulets, and then a lump in Sephiroth's gloved hand became visible – one that by all appearances was his heart, and that was still partially connected to Kurai.

By then Rimm was on the ground, curling up against a tree while grasping her mouth to keep herself from making any sounds. Watching in horror, she saw Sephiroth throw the lump aside, then she looked away, now gripping her stomach as well. By her side was Masamune.

"Bring Hojo my greetings."

After uttering his frigid words, Sephiroth coldly observed Kurai's already dead, sitting body until it fell sideways limply. If the ground was not still damp from yesterday's rain, it was now. The blood continued running from the hole in his chest, dyeing some of Kurai's hair red, and eventually reached Sephiroth's boots. Kurai's vividly colored brown eyes were wide open, already not reflecting any light whatsoever.

Then Sephiroth muttered a silent spell, one that must have been a small earthquake spell, because the ground started shaking. She still wasn't looking his way, but hearing the ground crack and feeling the smell of damp mud, she guessed the ground was parting. She risked glancing over her shoulder. Sephiroth and Kurai were both on an elevated platform of crumbling dirt, but not for long, because Kurai quickly toppled over the edge and fell into the crevice below, his limp body hitting the earthen wall several times on the way as he rolled deeper. Then Sephiroth once again muttered the same spell, controlling the earth so it crashed together again – leaving no holes or crevices, only uneven ground. The only trace left behind was Kurai's blood, and that would disappear as soon as it started raining again.

To her horror, when Sephiroth turned in her direction, his face was awfully cold and the corners of his mouth were turned down in something akin to a snarl, his intense eyes burning jade. His right, blood-covered arm twitched as he looked down on her from all the way over there, and she found herself struck with eminent fear as he started approaching with graceful strides. He looked as if he was blaming her as well, with every last fiber of his being. Kurai was not Hojo, yet Sephiroth had done such a thing – then, what difference did it make that she was his past friend? She had told him his mother was a human, which was a good thing, but he probably thought she knew all along that Hojo was his father, too. Which she did not. But... with the way he looked now...

Rising to her feet, she pushed away from the tree and started running away, at loss of what else to do. She had no idea if Sephiroth posed a threat or not - his angry face may as well have been because he had let her see him commit such an act.

The same morning, he had embraced her, something he would never have done in the distant past – but now everything was so startlingly different.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that he was standing where she had curled up moments ago. He was holding his sword again, in his left hand. Blood was still dripping from his right. But at least he wasn't following her.

"Hah..." she uttered, maneuvering between trees that shrunk in size, yet carried more foliage and leaves the farther she ran. The small trees were very soon accompanied by equally large bushes. Rimm welcomed this, thinking that it would take longer for Sephiroth to find her if he decided to come after her. Yet, even when she was running like this, she couldn't help but feeling her chest ache of something else than just lack of air. She felt bad just escaping like this, without saying anything or hearing Sephiroth say anything. Now he probably thought even worse of her. If he weren't angry with her in the beginning, she had messed things up a lot by running like this.

"What am I doing..." she mouthed without any sound other than her partially stifled heaves for air. Now was not the time to hesitate. She had to run as fast as she could for as long as she could, or else she might come to regret it thoroughly.

Turning up the sloping ground when she got close enough to on of the tiny mountains surrounding Gongaga, Rimm hurried forward. Heading up, she pushed branches out of her way and stepped over broken twigs and protruding roots at her feet. While rushing up towards the sun-bathed peak of the mountain, she tried thinking of what to do next. Should she hurry downhill on the other side, back to Gongaga? Or would Sephiroth find her there? Would he go back there to search for her? Or should she find a hiding place in the forest and stay there, hoping he wouldn't be able to pinpoint her whereabouts when he searched for her presence or something?

She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see bushes and branches billowing in her wake.

Instead, though a fairly long distance behind her, she saw the silver-haired, winged man that was Sephiroth, whose Masamune was on his back and whose face held no signs of playful smirks. And she could really not afford to think about whether his lack of a smirk was good for her or not. He was chasing her - as fast as he could.

Now scared to death and fueled by fear and adrenaline, Rimm ran on, her eyes fixed on all the green, thick foliage ahead, through which the sun barely made its way. She steered between small tree trunks and chose the hard ways instead of open places – hoping Sephiroth's wings would slow him down. Feeling her knees threatening to give in because of her struggles to get up the sloping, small mountain, she only forced herself to go faster, feeling her heart throb and her lungs join in. She looked over her shoulder again, and Sephiroth was so much closer, so close she felt powerless and half blinded by her futile clambering. Again, she dove under the heavy branches of a leafy tree, and glanced over her shoulders again once she was on the other side. He appeared to have stopped – if only for a moment. And she kept climbing the increasingly steep slope.

If she could make it to the top of the small mountain, would there be any point at all in yelling for help? Would she even manage to force herself to do that, since that practically meant dealing Sephiroth another hit – on top of her running away in distrust?

But she never got far enough to find out.

Sephiroth grabbed hold of her left elbow from behind, and frightened, she tried breaking free by jerking her arm away from him, something that only made his grip strengthen. Not wanting her back exposed to him she turned to face him, fear gleaming in her eyes briefly as she tried prying him off. He extended his other arm to stop her from doing so – the arm still covered in blood – and her fear magnified. She was literally afraid enough not to see his face at all, and she only saw his arms reaching out, but that way she managed to free her elbow by yanking it out of his grip. She fell backwards to the slanting ground, but immediately started backing away on all fours. Staring at the blood-covered arm, she started feeling sick to her stomach again.

Just when she was about to get to her feet again to turn around and continue running up the slope, Sephiroth moved after her again, and she tried rolling out of his way. She wasn't fast enough – Sephiroth lowered above her and placed a clenched fist on both sides of her, thus forcing her to look him in the eye. She fixed her gaze on his face. He looked back with a humorless frown and equally intense eyes. His hard stare only made everything worse and she tried ducking down enough to slip away past his arms.

But then he'd had enough.

He let himself drop down and trapped her, restraining her as much as possible as his cheek brushed hers for a second. For the second time that day, energy coursed through her briefly – energy she now discerned as Nova's and Jenova's. Seeing no reason to fight after having lost so completely, she loosened up completely and remained limp with the exception of her heart and craving lungs. He was on top of her, weighing her down so much she couldn't breathe properly, but she was in no position to complain about it. No matter what she did or said, this was her ultimate loss. He pulled his head back enough to see her face, which was suddenly languid and powerless – not holding a trace of fear other than the fact that her pupils were about as tiny as they could get. As it were, she had absolutely no energy left. Physically and mentally worn out, she let exhaustion take hold of her.

It was almost ironic – Sephiroth, Jenova and Nova were obviously far more superior than herself, even though Sephiroth was only a human like herself. If he touched her one more time – skin against skin – she wouldn't be able to take it. And even if Sephiroth wished her no harm in the future, they would never be able to touch without that ghastly energy flowing through them. All her life, she had never experienced so many horrible things happen in one day.

"Why did you run," he demanded, his voice silent.

As a reply, she glanced towards his right arm and the blood she knew stained it. She could feel the smell of rust. Then she looked over his shoulder, where the hilt of Masamune showed.

"Did you think of me as capable of killing you as well?" he muttered, his head dropping so she couldn't see his face, his weight on her increasing.

"No," was her whispered reply. She was sure he would _never_ have killed her. But she had escaped anyway – shocked by what he had done to Kurai and temporarily blinded by it. She was sure he could tell.  
"Sorry," she whispered, fainter this time because she absolutely didn't trust her voice, but honest nonetheless. She wanted to be stronger – she really did – but it wasn't that easy.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked, startling her.

"No!" she squeaked, cringing at the sound. She threw a glance at his wings, which were spread out on both sides of them. Surely, if Sephiroth wished her harm, he would have ridden himself of her long ago. But she was unharmed - only tired and lacking energy.

Then, with his right hand, he pushed both of them up from the ground; She was halfway straddling him, he was holding around her with his left arm. His wings followed, a move that didn't turn out quite as planned – the extra weight pulled him backwards, making both of them tumble downhill. Exclaiming as they picked up speed, Rimm felt Sephiroth's grip around her tighten considerably as he rolled them over. With a powerful thrust of his wings, soon followed by a second and third flap, they were in the air. Then, as soon as they had left ground, they landed again, both of them standing on their feet. Rimm was holding onto his upper arms as if they were life buoys, afraid that she would fall of she didn't.

"Let me try and explore Nova's influence," he said. He had already done so with Jenova – he could _control_ Jenova, she was sure – but wasn't that because he was _strong?_ She wouldn't be able to do such a thing.

She looked up, and stopped as his chin touched her forehead. She waited for the surge of energy to come.

But it didn't.

* * *

"That would be because as long as I tread carefully, Jenova can't use myself as a medium." Jenova would always be there, but would be unable to interfere if he remained cautious – unlike how he had been acting earlier today, on a number of occasions.

Rimm tilted her head up, looking incredulous.  
"Then, what about Nova?" ...Hopefully, this 'Nova' would not pose a threat – Rimm was, after all, used to be careful. She thought of things a lot, whether they were of importance or not, and acted thereafter.

"Just guard yourself." The words came out much colder than he intended, but he ignored it.

"...Can you stay with me?"

An eerie, heavy silence ensued, bringing with it unavoidable questions and problems he had yet to solve. With Rimm alive and well and Kurai and his men taken care of, so to speak, it would not be dangerous for Rimm to return to Gongaga. But for himself, who was tinged with a past dark enough to put even the deepest of abyssed to shame, to stay with her... Such a thing was not something he could do easily. He could not simply turn back time and undo everything. He could not bring people back to life, nor did he have the means of atoning for his sins. They would trail behind him like they had always done – as a heavy veil that could never lighten. A burden he could never endure to share with Rimm. He would not let it obscure her.

"I would rather not have to-"  
"Mum used to say that feeling true regret is the same as repenting. And once you regret, then it's time to forgive yourself." She sounded frightened when she spoke – not of him, but instead nervous that he would not listen.

Weren't her words much too simple? He _always_ felt regret. It diluted him and weighed him down more every time he killed without a sensible reason. And there really was no such thing as a rational motive strong enough to justify the murders he had committed. If there was truth to Rimm's statement, he had already atoned in a way, and all that was left was to forgive himself.

"You..." he started, searching for appropriate words. All he could think of were – of habit the past years – sarcastic remarks that would only make matters worse.  
"Hm?"  
"...had a kind mother." His words made her wince, and he felt something akin to pain as well, only different from hers, he was sure.

"Please stay." Her voice was tinted with something that almost seemed like anger – to hide her sadness. Rimm clutched him by his wrists and let her forehead rest against his coat.

...Surely, even if sins could not be undone, they could be forgiven. Somehow. But to do so...

"I shall have to take some sort of punishment upon myself for my sins," he mused monotonously.  
"But you don't need to. You can't be punished _for_ your sins, not when you've already been punished _by_ them!" she said angrily, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself as well.

_Forgive yourself._ That was what she was saying. As if all others would forgive him when he did.  
...Yet, _when_ exactly did he start caring about what all the others thought of him? If Rimm forgave him and wished for him to remain by her side, then there really was no need to ponder matters such as these.

"...I seem to be thinking too much."

The statement earned him a bewildered look, one that of some reason gave him immense relief.

* * *

The rest of the day and the days following it were spent talking, clearing things up. Rimm was pretty sure that both of them were feeling as if they were beginning to heal, if only a little currently. Misunderstandings were corrected and memories were brought back up so as to get an overview and reach understanding. Sephiroth left out details he was sure she wouldn't like to hear, and she tried making him tell anyway, and both of them tried putting things back in place. The things she told were quiet and not of great importance, yet full of comparisons, all adding up to something that she hoped Sephiroth would remember nonetheless. Sephiroth told stories with great details, and a select few times he chose to add certain descriptions that made her cringe with fear, excitement and sympathy(and she was sure he only did so to see her react and make her forget all the most recent events).

And they had found a place to stay, far away from Shinra, Midgar, Avalanche and all the places that brought forth memories.

They had agreed that the villagers of Gongaga would manage better without them (especially with that old scythe lady guarding them at all times), and Rimm had only returned briefly – to leave flowers for her parents and Zack, and to go get some food and a change of clothes.

When she returned, Sephiroth had suggested several places they could go to, including the _Ancient Forest_ between Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon(which Rimm claimed was full of beetles, spiders and other suspicious creatures), the _Cactus Island_ in the middle of the sea south-west of Gongaga(to which Rimm replied she didn't want to live on a tiny spot of sand), and the long islands north-east of Mideel(which Rimm disagreed with, because the fiends there were so strong she had to rely on Sephiroth all the time, and she really didn't want to be blackmailed). He also suggested the island holding the _Temple of the Ancients_, but that sounded too fishy. After that he had suggested the _Goblin Island_, which she flatly refused to even visit, because goblins were strictly not beings she wanted to meet at all(she described them as dogs the size of compact cars walking on two legs, who would easily wolf down chunks of solid human beef if given the chance). Then there was the oblong island directly north of _Goblin Island,_ which didn't please her either("People with a decent head on their shoulders wouldn't stoop to settling down on a nameless island that could hold anything from hunormous dragons to gnomes selling broken pirate skeletons.").

"Then, dare I suggest Round Island?"

...And because she found the name of said island idyllic and beautiful – especially when he described it as a large island surrounded by imposing mountains on all sides, with forests and caves, rivers and whatnot, she had said yes blindly(whereupon he intentionally left out the fact that this island also had a significant number of fiends).

They had spent days getting there, having to stop several times along the way to eat and sleep and such, and then they continued the day after – even staying on the _Goblin Island_ on their way, much to Rimm's chagrin.

And now, having stayed for some time on the _Round Island_ – which was about as far north-east as one could possibly get – they were settling down more or less. The trees were old and big enough for them to live in, and Rimm entertained the idea of simply building a roof and some walls to turn one of them into a house. To do any such thing, however, Sephiroth would need to leave the island to get supplies and tools, and wouldn't return for days. Rimm didn't like that too much(she had noticed that there were fiends there, after all, but hadn't brought up the matter).

_'Seriously. When winter comes... I'll turn into a...'_ she would mutter, then she would try to come up with something she might turn into once the cold got to them.  
_'...into...'_ she would continue, crouching close to the edge of a particularly large branch and fingering the old moss there. And Sephiroth would let her keep thinking, knowing it would be easy enough for him to light a fire once it got cold. The branches above – even in winter, without all its leaves – would undoubtedly keep them dry. For now, though, it was only early spring. If he wished, he could return to the mainland at any time to fetch things, but only if Rimm came with him.

The island was so deserted that Rimm was already entertaining the idea of the two of them living there for the rest of their lives, turning into gossiping elders with binoculars and arthritis on the way, but remaining _friends_. A word that, however comforting, was beginning to sound dull. Also, beneath all the optimistic talking about a new beginning, the memories still remained.

"Say..." Rimm muttered to him, pointing at him with a displeased face from where she stood in front of him. He, like her, was in an impressive tree. Resting against the trunk of said tree, far above the ground, Sephiroth looked up with no particular expression and observed her. She was wearing baggy black pants and a vivid, red t-shirt with black hems and a flashy logo across her chest. She had not discarded her beanie – even though none of her beanies hid her growing silver hair any longer(something she fretted about occasionally, though only jokingly, adding comments such as 'growing gray hair before her age').

"Do as you please," he said, and shut his eyes as she sat down next to him and leaned closer. This was becoming normal. She would sit down next to him – against one of his wings (he could make them appear and disappear at will, much to Rimm's enjoyment and also chagrin, since she had grown to like them) – and they would sit there peacefully, and if she wished she would tell him what was on her mind. Then he would share his comments if he felt like it.

"You're really stupid."

...But he had really not expected her to say anthing like _that._

Turning to her with arched brows, he stared her down while wearing an incredulous look. Why she said such a thing was beyond him – unless she did it to take him off guard. And surely enough, she snickered and jumped to her feet when she saw his face, then jumped along the broad branch, thoroughly satisfied that she was able to say such a thing to his face without him being able to deliver anything in return. Looking over her shoulders and seeing that he was still somewhat taken aback, she could hardly contain her laughter, and her shoulders started shaking as she grinned and turned away. Not planning to let her off the hook that easily, Sephiroth rose to his feet and let himself levitate in the air, moving to her without a sound.

Then he shoved her off the branch, resulting in her giving him a thoroughly satisfactory look of disbelieving horror. Of course, he dived down after her and caught her, then steered clear of the ground and landed by a nearby tree root. As if on cue, their little flight triggered a memory:

"_How did you get us here?" The question made him throw a glance at her.  
"Levitation," was his honest-sounding reply.  
"...Pfft," she uttered, followed by a single chuckle. He couldn't fool her that easily.  
Sephiroth immediately read her expression. Every part of her face told him she was indirectly saying '_I don't believe you at all_' or '_HAH! As if!_' or even '_Duh. Yeah, right._' _

And then there was another:

_When she opened the door and peeked inside, wearing a Santa hat and a cautious expression, Sephiroth was taken aback to find that he was no longer sitting - he was standing, bending only slightly forward, with his fingertips resting on his desk._

After both of them were done apologizing to the other of reasons he could recall at the moment, Rimm had been the first to speak:

"_Goodness... Thanks..." was her sheepishly spoken reply. Sephiroth attempted giving a small smile and was rewarded with a genuine, lopsided smile from Rimm, whose cheeks were still red. That smile had been absent for much too long. The fact that she looked as relieved as he felt was, if anything, truly satisfying. _

To add to this... there were times he did not wish to remember at all – especially things done to her by Kurai:

_He had not expected the white-haired man to be capable of going this far. Sephiroth had never experienced his determination wilt as fast as this - to say that he was stunned would be an understatement. To him, watching the man touch Rimm was worse than touching her himself, with his tainted hands. Kurai was pinning her down, whether it was to the floor or the wall could not be decided at first glance. Rimm's expression was much too visible; She looked petrified, her eyes glancing to places that suggested she had lost control of her movement. Kurai, while Sephiroth watched, moved closer to her, parting her unnaturally exposed legs even more. Noticing Sephiroth, Kurai glanced at him and leered, then moved from her neck and proceeded to her face.  
After a short, taunting look at her and a very brief widening of his open-mouthed smirk, his lips closed on top of hers roughly, grazing them as he did._

...And a result, he had most likely lost her first kiss.

"Whoa-" Rimm exclaimed as Sephiroth intently let his knees buckle. Rimm followed him to the ground, her surprised face soon replaced by one of genuine worry. On their knees in front of each other, she reached out and held his forelocks out of the way.

"Se-" she started, but stopped when he leant closer claimed her lips with his own, and stiffened considerably in his grip. His hands were at her back, not pulling her closer just yet. Then she smiled without pulling away, nudging his lips a little. Her hands played with the belts across his chest and he pulled her closer, her t-shirt wrinkling in his grip. When he pulled away for a moment, she shoved him off so he fell back, and he pulled her with him. His wings extended and he looked at her and saw her sit up, straddling him, wearing a grin and flushed cheeks.

"You're the underdog, you underbird," she said, unable to keep her face serious as she gestured at his wings and looked down at him. As a response, he feigned a look of complete end utter disinterest, something which led to the brutal end of Rimm's good mood.

"What... You..." she muttered, turning limp on top of him.

"You fail miserably at appealing to me," he taunted in a level voice, earning a darker shade of red from her cheeks. She crossed her arms and looked to the side very abruptly and tensed around him as she did, making him grope at the ground. She must have noticed a change as well, because her blush extended to her ears as she looked back.

"You big, bad liar." This time, _her _voice was level. And, rude and straightforward as she was, she went ahead to underline her point by grinding against him lightly.

The tables turned as Sephiroth used arms and legs to flip them over, and suddenly the scene was far more intimate than he had first intended. In her gray eyes (in front of which her hands and all her fingers moved erratically as if she was at loss of what else to do with her hands) he could only see surprise – no fear. Tilting his head and smirking, he made her – if possible – even more flustered. He was on top of her, with his hands on the ground on each side of her, with his large wings spread above them. To add to this – since she had straddled him moments ago and he had simply flipped her over – he was situated between her knees. An advantageous position, indeed. For many reasons.

"B-blackmail..!" she squeaked. Indeed, he was exerting pressure on her through unspoken threats.  
"_And_ you're enjoying it!" she added.

"Indeed I am." And when he lowered, he could not exactly hear her complain, either. She was submitting and he, as before, relished in the sensation of having the upper hand. He was in a place (and posture, he dared venture) of complete advantage and control, no matter how many rude or nervous yells she chose to utter. To Rimm, if he wished, he could do anything.

Only he would not. Not now.

He sat up slowly, cradling Rimm as he did, and left ground once more, this time only levitating rather than using his wings. Though flustered and confused, she looked truly happy just resting against him in his arms. She peered up at him with eyes that looked mischievous, yet very much pleased. They had plenty of time – he wouldn't want to break what they had started building. Doing what he did right now made him feel _lighter._ It felt as if his chest had been dipped into clean, chilly water only to be pulled back up swiftly, dried, then wrapped in something warm – which in his case was Rimm. He hoped she felt the same.

...And looking down at her beaming face, he could tell she did.

* * *

**R.R. ** !-- page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --


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